RP XCOM2: Liberation of Earth

[ZombieSplitter53]

Frostlich1228 & ZombieSplitter53
Friendship over Culinary Delights
Part Two

Cathy's eyes widened, this being the first time she had seen an Elder in person, "Whoa... You uh... You don't need to tip me..."

Oh? I thought the no tipping thing was more Japanese. Hmm... Shen lifted his hand and the tray floated from Cathy's hands onto the table. Well... would you like to join me in that case? I've never eaten with my Chef, and there looks to be far too much for me to eat on my own.

"Of course!" She smiled, sitting down in front of the rather imposing figure of the Elder, "I am kind of hungry."

Hmm, forward. I like that. Care to join us, Anja?

His assistant quickly shook her head. "N-no, thank you sir. I, um... I-I'm going to make sure everything is okay downstairs."

As the young woman practically fled, Shen slowly shook his head. Such a bashful woman. Please take no offense. He slowly reached up and unlatched his mask. Please. As you humans say, 'dig in'.

Cathy took one of the filleted fish she cooked earlier, putting it on a separate plate, then digging in with her fork, seeming proud by the fact it flaked off with no effort. She smiled, looking up at the strange guest before her, "Wow... So... You're an Elder... Like the one that was helping us? XCOM, I mean..."

The extraterrestrial placed his mask to the side, his face undoubtedly alien but his small smile familiar for what it was. "Shen'lutusus," he said it his own voice, the scratchiness in it a sign that he wasn't used to vocally speaking. "I am told that is a mouthful, so please call me Shen. And you are with XCOM I take it? Please tell me you are a cook by day, their most skilled assassin by night."

"Nope, just a cook..." She smiled back, "I am with XCOM, and I do have some psionic whatzit powers, but I don't really fight... I uh... I don't really like hurting people..."

"Nor do I. It is too bad my people seem to be so good at it." Shen pushed away the depressing thought, and picked up a pair of chopsticks, his slender fingers looking like chopsticks we're designed for his people. He took a piece of fish and slowly chewed on it. "You... made this, Ms. Cathy? Just from things you found in the kitchen with no real recipe?"

"Yeah, I just kind of threw it together... My mom told me once, if you don't know what you're doing, use the things you do know, and just wing it!" Cathy explained, dipping one of the fried veggies into the soy sauce.

Shen did the same, smiling at the taste. "You know, most of my kind find the act of eating to be pointless. Our psionic energy maintains us for the most part, and nutritional supplement packs provide the rest. I, on the other hand, have made it a point to sample the cuisine of planets across our part of the galaxy, and while I'm not sure if Earth is the best, it is certainly within the top ten." He sampled some of the rice, savoring the taste. "In that note, I'm not sure if you are the best human I have ever had the pleasure of receiving food from, but you are certainly within the top ten. Perhaps the top five."

"Really?" She confirmed, "Wow... Well, out of all the Elders I've ever seen, you're easily the best one!"

Shen chuckled. "Thank you. I appreciate that." He took a few more bites as he looked Cathy over. "You know... you are quite different from the other humans I have met."

"What do you mean?" The Chef asked, forking up some of the rice into her mouth.

"Well... most humans from the city see with reverence, and some with fear. As for XCOM, most of you see me as an uneasy ally but one to hold contempt against. Even had one soldier almost attack me. But you... you treat me like a normal person. Like I was just another human you were enjoying a meal with. It's unusual... in a refreshing way."

"Well, didn't you help us?" Cathy asked, tilting her head, "Who knows... Without you my roommate may not have made it out of his mission alright... Who knows what else could have happened... You've already proved you're not like the other ones, why keep treating you like them?"

"That's... a good question." The Elder slowly scooped up some rice, chewing on it as he thought it over. "I guess... the reasoning is that I have done too much evil to be looked upon as anything but a monster. There is likely fear that I still can not be trusted. That I should be locked away or down away with. After all, if you really think about it, you don't need me. You could do away with me and take over the city in our weakened state. Why stoop so low as to work with one of the monsters that wrongly proclaimed themselves rulers of your world?" Shen's words were sad, and he said them less like he was explaining how others might think, and more like he felt he deserved to looked at that way.

"Well... I don't see a monster..." She frowned a little, "A monster wouldn't really bother to question their actions, right?"

"No... they wouldn't. I wish others saw the way you did. Still..." Shen stared down at his food. "But how does one truly make up for what I have done?" He slowly shook his head. "Apologies. That is not something I should ask you."

"It's okay..."Cathy nodded, "To be honest... I'm not sure... But as long as you are always trying and putting everything you have into making up for it... Well, that'd be good enough for me."

Shen nodded. "Well... enough about me. Most of the XCOM individuals I have met have been soldiers. Tell me something about yourself, my dear."

"Well, I used to live in a Megacity like this..." She put a finger to her chin in thought, "Before I joined up... I guess in some ways it's a little comforting to be back in one... But at the same time, I left because I wanted to make some kind of difference... I left my family... I guess in a way I've come full circle now."

"When this is over, and you presumably win, will you return to your family?" Shen asked.

"Yeah... Or maybe start one of my own..." Catherine smiled, thinking of Artyom, "I want to make a big restaurant like this one! It's my dream. Making hundreds of people happy a day... Seeing their smiling faces pass in and out that door... It just gives me such a warm feeling inside..."

Shen smiled. "Well, I can't promise I'll have any power here when the time comes. In fact I'm pretty sure I won't. But my word should still be decent. If you decide to stay here, with all the damage, I am sure you can find a nice place to start your dream. I'll try and get you a good location for a good deal. The least I can do for someone in the group that... in a sense, came to our rescue."

"You'd really do that!?" She asked excitedly.

"Of course," Shen answered. "I am a man of my word, and one who pays back his debts." He took another bite of his dinner. "And if this meal is any indication, it is clear I owe you a debt of gratitude for keeping XCOM well fed."

"That's so..." Cathy stopped herself to think for a moment, "Actually... I have one more little thing I might want... If it's not too much trouble..."

Shen folded his two pairs of hands and leaned forward curiously. "And that is?"

"I want... Pie crust supplies... Like... Maybe a sackful of flour, butter, etc..." Cathy measured out in her head, "And whipped cream... like... A lot of it... Do you think you can do that for me?"

Shen chuckled. "Is that all? I just so happen to be a big fan of human delectables, and know just the place to get such supplies. It will be sent to your ship within a day, I swear it."

"Yes!" Cathy bounced a little, "It's uh... For a friend..."

"Got it." Shen reached down, taking one last bite of the fine meal that had been prepared for him. "And thank you, my dear. You are both an exceptional cook and an exceptional person. If only we could have met in more peaceful times."

"Yeah... Maybe we could hang out sometime later?" Cathy suggested with her usual infectious grin, "Maybe I could even get Brigid to meet you! But... Might be a little hard to get Morrigan's permission for that... Mmmn."

"I am sure a woman of your impeccable charm could arrange it. You could tame a Kerberant with your smile." He extended a hand. "Until next we meet, my dear."

Accepting his handshake, she hopped up, "Yup! I hope I'll seeya sometime soon!"

 

[ZombieSplitter53]

ZombieSplitter53 and DarkGemini24601: “Pale Sunshine, Part 1”

Alpine Megacity “Matterhorn”
1444 Hours, December 29th, 2038
Former-Protectorate Facility

Shen stood outside a familiar room in his facility, simply staring at the door. He was alone, insisting Anja take the day off after all the work she had put in. Truthfully, Shen could use a year off considering how he felt, physically and mentally. But not before this was done. Meeting a certain someone with the kindest of hearts recently had encouraged him to take more steps in his attempts at penance. This had to be done, though it would pain him more than something like this should pain one of his kind. But it had to be done. So he waited, alone, for one of his greatest allies to arrive.

Atka was dressed in her military uniform when she arrived, clad in black shoes, navy blue pants and a formal jacket of the same color, a white undershirt and matching gloves. "What do you need?" the Inuit woman questioned the Ethereal. "It'll be a few more days until the Avenger departs. I had some questions for you, but I don't need to ask them until later."

This might seem a tad... unusual... but I would like to ask a favor of you. Shen turned to the woman. And before I tell you what it is, I want to make it clear that I am under no delusion that you owe me any favors. If anything, I owe many to you.

The Elder's choice of words - despite meant to be reassuring - put Atka on guard. "What are you planning on asking me to do, exactly?" The Commander frowned. “And just speak to me audibly, please.”

"I have a... subject in my facility," the Elder explained. "A research specimen of sorts. You could even say a weapon. I would like you to take this subject with you."

"A... specimen?" Atka shook our head. "Sorry, but we've got plenty of advanced tech already. I don't need some hard-to-control alien creature as an attack dog. That's your problem, not mine."

Shen lifted his left hands. "Would you, perhaps, reconsider if I told you she's human? And a sixteen year old child?"

"...why the hell did you call her a weapon, then?"

Shen sighed. "Because that is what she has largely been used as in the past year or so. SNY-102-1 is a living computer, a result of the protectorate's attempts to impart as much biological reasoning to computer computations as possible. And once they got as close to that as possible, at least with her, they set her to work operating SHIVs. She is unfortunately responsible for the deaths of a great number of resistance members..."

Atka's knuckles whitened, and - shimmering behind her - the form of her icy helixes was unconsciously brought forward, flickering for a few moments before Atka managed to calm herself down somewhat. "You've... still been doing that, all these years..." Atka growled in a hateful tone. "I doubt you know or would care, but my parents were both turned into the same sort of biological machines... and were killed like so much trash when your counterpart destroyed the old base."

Shen stared at the wall silently, unsure what to say. "Empathy is... not something my people are very good at. It is something I am trying to learn myself. Of course... I am sure doing so for you would be an insult from a being such as I. One part of switching from one side to the other is... having to face the terrible things you were once a part of and say... "I did that... and I can never change that fact. I just have to accept the monster I was."" He slowly turned to face her. "And I was a monster. What I did to 'help' my people... and to keep my cover... I truly am sorry, Commander."

Atka was silent for awhile, staring at the walls of the building instead of speaking. She tapped her foot once, and took a deep breath. "Is there anything left of this person of yours? Or is she just an organic calculator now?"

"She is still a person. This might come as a surprise to you... might be downright unbelievable, but I fought very hard against my superiors to keep her that way. Pushed back surgeries, kept her on her medication when they wanted to take it away, and so forth. She is still human, at least when she isn't working."

"Medication?" Atka echoed. "What's she on medication for?"

Shen paused again, not wanting to upset Atka more but having no choice. "She has depression, insomnia and... schizophrenia. Voices, problems socializing... the occasional hallucination. She needs the medication to stay stable."

Atka sighed deeply. "All of which I imagine were created by - or at least exacerbated by - the things that have been done to her."

"I'd lean more towards it creating the problems... though it is hard to say, considering she has been a part of this project her whole life." Shen looked over at the door to their right. "Would you care to meet her before you make your decision?"

Atka shook her head. "I'll meet her, but I'm not going to leave her here with you. The Protectorate has already fucked her up enough. No more."

Shen nodded. "Not exactly the reason I hoped you would want to take her, but I will take what I can get." With a wave of his hand, the door opened. Beyond was a rather spacious room considering it had only one occupant. The left and right walls were lined with three large computer servers. Across from the door, SNY-101-2 rapidly typed on her multiple keyboards. The six computer screens displayed various information, with two of them showing the point of view of a pair of SHIVs patrolling the city.

Atka stepped in solemnly, feeling as if she were entering a prison cell or a mental hospital rather than a control room. Shen'lutusus, Atka telepathically hissed. Tell me her name, not her designation. I'm not going to refer to her by a goddamn series of letters and numbers.

Yes, of course. Apologies. Believe it or not, you are not the first to say as much. Her name is Sonya. No surname, though one of the other individuals here likes to refer to her as Sunny.

I'll... hold off from nicknames until I know her better. Atka cleared her throat. "Sonya?" she intoned, trying to get the teenager's attention.

The girl's eyes darted about the screens as she registered someone saying her name. "May I help you?" she asked robotically, not looking back.

Shen stepped over to a computer by one of the doors. She gets... entangled with her work. Plugged in, you could say. I am going to slowly bring her out of it. Please, continue speaking to her.

"I'm Commander Atka Ipiktok from XCOM. We fought alongside Matterhorn's soldiers in the defense of the city. I believe you were there as well... in a sense... if the Hover SHIVs that assisted my troops a few times during the siege were yours."

"I assisted in the fighting, yes. I engaged in seventeen separate fights, five of which included... i-included..." Sunny's concentration wavered as she was slowly pulled out of her digital world. As cold reality set in, she slowly turned her chair to look at Atka. Her pearl platinum colored hair laid against her shoulder, a bit messy but apparently cared for. She studied the XCOM Commander carefully, now having to speak with her on her own without the computer's assistance. The was something off about Sunny's eyes that Atka couldn't quite put her finger on at first, but she could tell a look of worry and apprehension was being given to her. "I-I... I-I-I-I h-helped w-whereever I-I could, C-Commander."

"I'm sure you did," Atka replied quietly. "I'll be taking you with me. Shen'lutusus does not wish to keep you here any longer."

"W-what?" Sunny looked between the two of them. "W-w-why not? D-did I do sssssomething wrong?!"

 

[ZombieSplitter53]

ZombieSplitter53, MarineAvenger, and DarkGemini24601: “Pale Sunshine, Part 2”

Shen held up a pair of hands. "Of course not. A... poor choice of words, perhaps."

"The reason he's giving you over to me is because you'll be treated better with XCOM, as opposed to remaining in... this place," Atka said with undisguised disgust.

"O-oh... but..." Sunny rubbed her wrists nervously. The marks on her arms said it was a constant habit. "B-b-but this is... where I belong... rrrright? I-I would j-j-just be a b-burden anywhere else. A-a-and I... a-a-and I... and I don't want... I-I have... a friend..."

"Who is that?"

Shen turned away. "Nick is another subject here. He is a bit more complicated when it comes to handling him, as his focus was advanced psionics in a young human. I must admit I wanted you to meet Sonya before mentioning him since... I do not think she will go with you unless you agree to take him as well."

Sunny rapidly nodded her head. "P-please d-don't take Nick away from me! He... h-h-he protects me! H-he... mmmmakes me happy..." Tears came to her eyes at the very thought of being taken away from him.

Tell me what he's like. What am I dealing with here?

Well... in human terms, I believe the right way to refer to him is as a 'hot head'. He has a temper to him, and can be a bit negative towards authority. On the other hand, the authority his resists is me and those who work for me. He has a deep hatred for the protectorate. I have no doubt that he would love the chance to take Sonya away from here, and would likely respect you for giving him the chance to do so.

Sounds like he's the one that's going to be difficult then... could you bring him in here?

Shen bowed his head, and exited the room to go get the other teen. Sunny gave Atka a worried look. "A-a-are you sure he isn't... throwing me out b-b-because I failed something?"

"I'm positive," Atka replied, leaning against one of the computer banks. "You did well defending this city. And even if you had failed him in some way, I'd honestly consider disappointing an Elder a badge of honor."

"Oh? I... oh..." Sunny lowered her head. "Y-y-you do not like Master Shen either, do you? N-Nick feels the ssssame way."

“I don’t like any of the Declensions. Their kind invaded our world and subjugated it. That leaves a bad taste in my mouth, to put it very lightly,” Atka responded firmly.

“Oh… um…” Sunny scratched her head. “What is D-Declensions? Is that a special name for the Elders?”

Atka sighed. Is this what dealing with Brigid was like for Yakone early on? “Let me clarify something for you, Sonya. The Ethereals are not your friends. To them, you are a tool and a lesser being, not an equal with rights. ‘Declensions’s is a derogatory term for the slavedrivers that the ‘Elders’ are.”

“Oh… I-I see…” Sunny looked over to the doorway. “W-w-what about Master Shen? H-he’s different. H-he says he c-c-cares about if I-I am healthy… h-he n-n-never punished me l-like the… others…”

“He’s the exception that proves the rule. He’s slightly less awful than the rest of them, which is why I’m in an alliance of necessity with him,” Atka stated evenly.

Sunny nodded in understanding. “I-I… I-I-I don’t w-w-want to be here a-a-anymore. The… the experiments… th-the killing…” She closed her eyes. “The n-nightmares. B-but… I-I’ve never known a-anything else. I-I want t-to leave… b-but when Nick t-tried to escape with me… I-I got s-scared…”

Her eyes darted to the door as the boy in question was escorted in. He had the sour look he usually had whenever he was anywhere near Shen, but Sunny gave him the warmest smile she could muster regardless.

Dressed in gray test subject attire, Nick stood about a head higher than Sunny and didn’t really look anything too out of the ordinary except for the frown her held. When he saw the girl’s smile, the ends of his mouth twitched dangerously close to upturning for a moment as he approached the young girl, touching her on the top of her head. “Did you eat right today?” He asked strictly.

Sunny slowly nodded. “Y-yes, Nick. I-I had s-some oatmeal f-f-for breakfast. I enjoyed it, j-just like y-y-you said I would.”

Shen took a cautious step forward. “Nick, my boy, I would like you to meet the Commander of XCOM. Like the rest of her people, you two share something in common; an utter disdain for me and my kind.”

“Gee, what a surprise, another person who hates you. Hope you hurt yourself searching too hard for that.” The young man looked over the older woman for a few moments and crossed his arms. “You’re younger than I imagined you would look.”

“I appreciate the compliment,” the Atka replied calmly. “Shen was handing over Sunny to XCOM, but I believe she would prefer that you come with her if she is to leave this place.”

Nick’s frown deepened and he turned his gaze over to Sunny, crossing his arms. “You held up your escape of this place just for me? What’s wrong with you? I told you not to worry about me if you ever had a chance to get out of here, but you went and did so anyways.”

“I’m sorry,” Sonya said softly, sulking down a bit. “P-please don’t be mad. I… I-I’m scared to go by myself. A-and… and you said you’d protect m-me. But how can y-you d-do that… i-if you’re not with me?”

“I’m not mad at you, but you should be happy to be leaving, not scared. Always like you to think of me before yourself. What am I going to do with you?” Nick said, shaking his head as he looked up at the Elder and scowled. “So it’s true? We’re finally leaving this place?”

“It is true. The good Commander is offering you quite the opportunity. Agree to behave and stay in line, at least a bit more then you do with me, and no more experiments. No more tests. No more facility. You will be moved to their ship where they, and you, can keep Sonya safe until the war is over, and you will be free to do whatever you want after that. What else could you ask for, hmm?”

“I could think of quite a few in regards to you.” Nick said with great hostility, looking back over to Atka. “I just want to make one thing clear. If even a hair gets out of place on Sunny’s head and I find out XCOM is involved, I will put an end to anyone who gets in my way to get her away. I don’t look at people who lie to my face with much remorse.”

“I can assure you that won’t be an issue, so I don’t need to go into the matter further,” Atka affirmed curtly.

“Then I suppose there won’t be any issues then.” Nick went over to Sunny once more, putting a hand on her shoulder and smiling. “Ready to get out of here? I swear that you will get first choice of bed in our new room, got it? But in return you need to eat three meals a day, take your medication and get adequate rest. I don’t want to hear anymore about these late nights up because you wanted to go over one last program that turns into thousands.”

“We… we get t-to share a room?!” Sunny looked between Nick and Atka excitedly. “I-I promise! I-I swear, I-I w-w-will d-do e-everything th-the Commander s-says, a-and take m-m-my meds, a-a-and ssstay nnice and h-healthy!”

“That’s my Sunny.” Nick said with a nod, patting her head while looking back at Atka. “I think we are all set here, Grandma Atka.”

“And you were this close to…” Atka shook her head, grumbling something obscene in Inuktitut. “Let’s go…”

 

[MarineAvenger]

Tranquil Nightmare Part One

Sunlight beamed down from above, a soft breeze blowing through the air on the perfect summer afternoon. The engine of the car roared up the road’s incline, the car’s driver having his hair blow in the wind as he sped on towards the walled home of his family’s village. His grandfather told stories about how his family line had defended against the neighboring Hoshido daimyo with only a force of a couple hundred up against a force of thousands. His grandfather loved talking about the history of the Kazuko lineage, and Kai was alright with that.

The time had come once again for him to visit his family up at their family estate in the mountains, the calm village being a sanctuary away from the city life of Kyoto. Kai entered into the gates, glad to see a few other cars already in arrival as he pulled off to the side of the large house and killed the engine of his convertible. He opened the door and stepped out of the car, not exactly dressed for the summer heat but was dressed up sharp. A black business suit with thin white stripes going vertically up the fabric, a black dress shirt underneath and black tie with the lines going diagonally outwards from the center of it with the same white lines, all adorned with silver buttons on the chest and jacket pockets as well as where the suit was buttoned up. It was all topped off with slick black dress shoes which crunched along the gravel pathway that led to the front of the house.

“I’m here.” Kai announced when he stepped through the front door, taking off his nice shoes to replace with slippers, walking towards the smells of lunch being prepared in the kitchen. There were two people in there, both of which looked up at him with smiles.

Kai’s mother had grown out her black hair, going to her shoulders now when before it was cropped not to go past her jaw line. The second person was Kai’s father, his chiseled face broken up by the wide smile that cracked his stern features. He rose the can of beer in his hands. “You’re finally here boy! We were losing hope you would ever actually shoe.” The ex-baseball player stood up and came around the table to greet his son with a brief hug that Kai reciprocated.

“Highways were jammed up coming out of the city, so I was losing it too. Sped my way here as fast as I could.” Slapping the older man on the shoulder, Kai turned to his mother who approached him after drying her hands with a towel, hugging him with almost twice the force as his father had done.

“Welcome home sweetie.” His mother said lovingly, loosening her grip but her hands remaining on his arms. “How are you doing with the job?”

“Hospital’s doing fine. A lot of boring director’s meetings about trying to get the radiology department the extra funds they need but hopefully everything will pan out how I see it. Wish you were still working there to work your sharp tongue against the executives though.” Kai noted with a warming smile, his mother sharing in a laugh.

“I wish I could have, but you know your grandmother’s health has been down since Dad passed away, and your father has a good electrician’s job up here he loves. Fate’s winds brought us here and we are making the best of it.”

Kai nodded, looking around with a frown. “Where is grandma by the way?”

“Oh, she’s in the study remembering. Dad’s birthday is always a hard time of year for her.”

“I’ll go say hi to her then, try and brighten up her spirits.” Receiving a nod from his mother, Kai stepped out of the kitchen and proceeded down the hall. Here, the home opened up into a large garden courtyard with a small bridge going over a pond filled with koi, and Kai had fond memories playing on that bridge when he was younger. He had once grabbed for the fish and fell in, nearly causing his mother a heart attack. The man chuckled at the memory as he passed, rubbing the back of his neck. At that moment Kai thought he heard a child’s laugh and stopped, looking around over the courtyard. He saw nothing, deciding that his mind was playing tricks on him and kept walking.

He came to a partially closed door and knocked before opening it. When he stepped inside, the whole room was strong with the smell of burning incense, the little study all neat and tightly packed except for the far corner where an older woman currently sat surrounded by pictures and photo albums, boxes opened revealing momentos that belonged to her deceased husband. Kai got to his knees and looked down at the precious memories, saying, “Hey gran. I made it.”

The old woman wearing a dark purple kimono looked up at Kai and let out a thoughtful sigh, reaching out and touching his cheek. “Oh Kai, welcome home. I must say, you look so very handsome. Almost like your mother when she was younger, and your grandfather to boot. Oh yes… back in those days, he was the most ravishing man I had ever laid eyes upon. It is a shame you did not bring a woman home with you this time.” Kai’s grandmother said, looking up with a vindictive and conniving look.

The young man merely let out a laugh, shaking his head. “I am too busy with work to worry about women. It was hard enough leaving to try and be here with all of you for the reunion.”

“I see… and whatever happened with that Shen woman you told me you had met? If I didn’t know any better, I would have said you were head over heels for her.”

Once again, Kai shook his head. “An-Yi was only contracted to bring in some new equipment for some of our more lackluster departments. Once the contract was fulfilled it was time for her to head out. It was merely a business deal, Gran. I wasn’t interested in her at all. She was too hot-headed for me.”

Kai’s grandmother let out a contemplative hum, looking down and picking up a picture of herself in her prime. “The Kazuko family has a long history of fiesty women. Your father found that out, your grandfather found that out, and my father found that out as well. I think destiny was trying to hit you over the head with a sign.” The elderly woman noted, smacking Kai upside the head lightly.

“Maybe. But I have no interest right now. Maybe after my career is more stable I’ll be ready.” The young man said, looking down at the floor before closing his eyes.

The grandmother stroked her wrinkly chin in between her thumb and index finger, letting out a short cackle. “I suppose my boy, I suppose. But I am not going to live forever, and I wanna see some great-grandchildren before I go meet my husband up in heaven, God bless his soul.” She reached out, placing a supportive hand on the young doctor’s shoulder. “Love does not wait for excuses Kai. Don’t make any more for yourself and find that you’ve lost out.”

He nodded, looking up at his grandmother with a smile. “Thanks. I’m… gonna go walk for a while, okay?” When the older woman nodded, Kai stood up and walked out of the room, slowly shutting the door behind him. His face grew to look somber as he walked forward. He wandered for a while, thinking about what was said and what sort of life Kai really had planned for himself. He was the director of his own hospital, was rich as any man could hope for, but his grandmother was right in the fact he kept making excuse after excuse.

 

[MarineAvenger]

Kai was lost in thought that he almost didn’t hear that laugh again, one which tickled his memory. He turned to try and see what it was from and saw something run through the back gate of the house and into the forest that lay behind the home. Furrowing his brow in confusion, Kai followed in pursuit, running through the gate and into the overgrowth of nature. His nice shoes he had replaced his slippers with were not exact the best for running and more than once Kai found himself almost falling on his face because of it.

He stopped and finally caught sight of something, some sort of smaller person dressed in white who ran further into the forest. “Hey! Stop! Who are you?” Kai ran after the little kind mumbling something about why he hated children. Kai followed in the kid’s direction and caught a glimpse of him just as the mystery kid was climbing over a moss covered rock. He climbed over it with ease, and stopped, looking up in a moment of pause.

Sunlight cascaded into the forest from the top of the hill that a stone stairway led up to, causing a beautiful scene of the light coming through the shimmering green leaves. Kai didn’t run, instead taking a slow walk up the stairs and walking through the light. The entire place he stepped into was set up in a clearing of the forest, there being a gate meant to block access further up the hill as it was kept away from humans as a nature preserve that led up into the mountain Kai’s family home was built near the base of. To his left there was the sound of flowing water as it fell from a brook that came from the mountain and collected in a pool with more smaller koi swimming around in.

To the right there was an old derelict wood building that was merely a single room that still had a musty looking mat placed in the center of it. It likely served as a station where guides awaited travelers looking to go up into the mountains. Next to the small rest area was a small stone monument covered with greenery concealing what had been engraved in it long ago. Kai heard a rustling and looked back at the pool where some wilted flowers sat and a few rusted coins sat idle.

Kai got an uneasy feeling, looking back to the open space of the home where an eerie sound was drawing his gaze of a rope swinging back and forth. He saw the gray colored body of a little girl dressed in a maiden’s outfit swinging from home as a red color overtook the sky as twilight was settling in. Kai had the urge to scream but it caught in his throat as the body slowly swung back and forth, the water behind him from the brook now pouring blood which overflowed from the stone pool and fell to the floor. The forest now looked dead and withered and Kai held his head, pounding with great intensity. He looked to the distance where a large green explosion went off, the blast being heard from where he stood. The shockwave was fast coming and finally Kai found he could yell. He did so as loud as he ever had before in his life.

He sat up in his bed, his exposed upper torso glistening with sweat as the Head Doctor sucked in several deep breaths, holding his head as reality hit him like a stark splash of water to the face. Kai forced down saliva in a gulp as he felt a soft hand touch his bare shoulder, the Japanese man looking over to see the worried face of Sukuna. “H-Hey…”

“Hey. I sensed you were having a nightmare. Are you… okay?” The kami asked, feeling Kai’s forehead for a fever and thankfully found none.

“Y-Yeah… I’m fine. It was just… it was just a dream…” Kai touched Sukuna’s hand, shaking his head.

“Do you… want to talk about it?” The woman asked, sitting down on his bed, putting her hands in her lap, though reached out, brushing Kai’s long hair to the side, caressing his cheek. Kai looked up and met the kami’s gaze, slowly nodding as he began to recite his tale.

 

[Dahlexpert]

On board the avenger
Soldiers barracks


Emile is on the floor doing a set of sit ups, his A.I. is on the floor next to him counting the reps he’s doing. 78, 79 80 81 82 83. I have to say Emile you're in fantastic shape, I mean your body is ripped I would bet most girls would swoon just looking at you.

Emile continue using sit ups, ignoring the A.I for the moment. He finally stopped and looked at the A.I “Really, I would rather not be seen a hunk of man meat by woman. Or anyone for that matter.” Emile head felt like it was screaming, as he grabbed his head .

More headaches? Emile go to engineering your clearly are hurting from having me in your head. Just go to Shin and look into it.

I’m fine, I don’t need to see Shin. Especially after what you did.”

Nut gave a wolfish grin to the young soulder, her finding some satisfaction in embarrassing the young autotrooper. Aw not used to having girls that close to you, I have to Admit baby you look so cute flustered. It’s a rare site that only I can see.

“And I will kill you if you mention this to anyone, you got that.” Emile face flustered having remembered him having Shen in his arm.

But seriously, Emile go to engineering you need to get this thing fixed. Can you do it for me, I don’t want these to happen in battle and it gets worse.

“Ugh fine, I get it. I will go to engineering and see what I can do about this.” Emile stood up and put on a gray shirt and jeans, he whiped off the sweat on his head and made his way to engeneering. Emile took the elevator down to engineering, though he didn't see Shen anywhere.”


Huh guess she’s not here, well we can try again tomorrow. Nut sees a Gremlin next to a red haired engineer, the red haired woman seems to be working on a few schematic. Huh maybe we can ask her, she seems interesting and she could be just as smart as Shin.

“Well she’s the only one here, why not we don’t have a choice.”

The gremlin noticed Emile and beeped at Alice causing her to turn around,the first thing Alice sees is Emiles metal arm and she started to squell in excitement. Ehhhhh, ou wow that’s a great looking arm.” Alice runs to Emile and grabs his arm, and started to examine it. “Wow durable Alloy metal, clearly alien, Did you get this arm from a MEC trooper? A normal one of course?”

Emile raises his eyebrow at the engineer. How the hell did she know that, she just looked at it and instantly figured it out. “Yea, how did you figure that out so quickly?”

“The way the meal looks as well as the sleek look, it’s clearly alien. Also I’m used to seeing this kind of metal working on the MECs and all that.

Ou an engineer that’s used to augmenting body parts, you must be really smart to not only know where you got your arm from. But what material it’s from. Nut said with in Emils head.


“Right anyway, look I have this problem. See during the siege we fought this floater that had this A.I in it, I killed it and Shen put it in my head. But recently I been getting a lot of headaches, and it’s killing me.”

“Humm.” Alice rubbed her chin and moved behind Emile. “Spark give me a quick look at his PCS, I think I know what the problem is. “ Spark scanned Emiles PCS and showed it to Alice.”Ou I see what the problem is, see it was just transferred to you during the battle it was a rushed installation. Don’t worry this is a simple fix, would be done in a few minutes.”

Alice Removed the Emiles PCS and Reinstalled Alice into his PCS, under much less stressful circumstances for the A.I allowing her to fully understand Emiles Echos. “Alright that should do it, now let’s get her back in there.” Alice put Nut back into Emiles head, and the A.I appeared next to Emile.

“You feeling better Nut?

Ugh yea, so this is all your abilities huh well well you're one hell of a solder so much better than my former partner. Hell without me in it, you would have killed it quickly.

Hay what can I say, guess you're extremely good at what you do. If you were the only reason that Heavy floater was alive, then we're going to be unbeatable together.”

Well look at you complement me, I very much appreciate it baby doll.”

“Well you two seem to be very good together, it’s not often I see a person adapt to a A.I so quickly. Or see a A.I act in such a way with there user.”

Well I was given a great personality chip, it also helps that i’m a full A,I and not a fragment of one. So i’m free to act how I want to, but it's more fun being a happy go lucky person.”

“To my dismay and annoyance, but i’m getting used to you. And you are making me more talkative so there is a positive to having you around.”

Nut looked at Emile shocked by his words.” I’m sorry i’m just not used to seeing you complimenting me, I must really be having an effect on you.

"You live in my head, it would be weird if you weren’t changing me in some wear way.”

Well it’s nice to see a soldier getting used to there A.I, Though I have to say I would love to put you into a gremlin and see what you can do on your own.” Alice almost drooling over the A.I.

Yea I’m good where I am, I like being in a living person even though i’m artificial. Thanks but no thanks doc, however I would like to know how you figured out what Emiles arm was made of?

“I used to work with ADVENT robotic division, I know ADVENT MEC’s better than most. So who ever made his arm out of that clearly chose correctly.”

Emile got out of his seat and looked at Alice. “You created the MEC’s, you made them your the reason my arm is missing and my parents being dead!” Emile wrapped his arm around Alice throat.

Alice grabbed Emile's arm trying to get out of it, Spark looked on with it having it’s defences offline. Alice stomped on Emiles foot, the sharp pain forced Emile to let go of Alice. Alice then grabbed Emile shirt despite the size difference and Yelled.

“ I’m so sick of people blaming me for what ADVENT does, i’m no longer with them! I had nothing to do with your family dying, I had nothing to do with Maverick squad dying. I designed the MEC’s yes I created many of the MEC’s we face today, but I did not make them to attack innocent people or put human brains into them!”

As Alice yelled, Nut appeared in the middle of them and shouted. Enough! Emiles head started to ring with the A.I anger. Emile this woman is not responsible for the death of your family, or anyone else for that matter she’s done nothing wrong.

Emile looked at the woman and back at spark. “Give me a reason why I shouldn't kill you?”

“Simple I did nothing wrong, you kill people with your gun should I take revenge on the gun maker for making the gun or the person wielding the gun. I help make the MEC’s but that does not mean I ordered them to attack innocent people or anyone else.”

Emile, she’s not responsible for what happened to other people. She’s innocent besides she helped you out in getting rid of the headaches. Plus i’m sure that’s not all she has for us.”

“She’s right, I’m also supposed to give people with A.I some special enhancement. Since you were a former enforcer, the commander wants me to give you a shield generator.”

Really, that’s wonderful isn't Emile?

“Sounds use full, but I don't want you putting it in me.”

“Well good for you because it goes into your armor, so your A.I can access it. It should only take me a few hours, now if there is nothing else get out of my work station!”

Emile did what he was told and left the engineering bay. That was unnecessary, you didn't have to attack her. I understand that you hate ADVENT and everyone that works for them but she’s on our side now, which means she’s not the enemy.

“That doesn't matter she helped create those robots, she-”

She’s helping us, she made the third gin gremlins if Shen trust her and the commander trust her isn't that enough.

“Teh doesn't mean I have to like it.”

No but you're going to calm down and when you have a cool head you will apologize to her.

“Apologize, we'll see about that. For now I feel like training we still need to work on our flight patterns, I want to get better.”

Sounds good, and since we're here for a few more days you're going to the local bar to interact with people consider it your punishment for being an ass.


“Ugh fine fine, I get it I will apologize to her later. God I hate you.”


No you don’t,and you know it.

 

[MarineAvenger]

MarineAvenger & ZombieSplitter53
Resolutions
Part One

Early in the morning on the last day of the year, the door of the recently freed Sonya opened and a person slipped in, walking over to the girl’s bed. A hand reached out to her, shaking her by the shoulder softly to wake the sleeping girl. She slowly opened her eyes, blinking a few times. The bed was unfamiliar to her, and she needed a moment to remind herself she was somewhere new. When she did, she looked over to her shoulder, and followed the arm up with her eyes.

As if she should expect anyone else, her protector’s frowning face looked down at her, though quickly readjusted his resting look to one of a smile. “Morning you. Sleep well in your new pajamas and bed?”

Sunny slowly sat up, and rubbed her eyes. Her silky white pajamas were literally the most comfortable thing she had ever been in, and she was disappointed when she was told she wouldn’t get to wear them everywhere. “I-I slept… good,” she said with a smile, the answer simple but meaningful. “A-and you, Nick? D-did you sleep good?”

“I couldn’t sleep a wink. Your snoring was keeping me up all night.” Nick said with a chuckle.

Sunny pouted and folded her arms. “I-I do not snore, fibber… d… d-do I?”

“You know me too well. You can snoop out a fibber very well.” Nick admitted, rubbing the top of Sonya’s head tenderly. “I slept just fine. Even if the beds aren’t that much different than the labs.”

“B-but… where the beds are is better, right? Where our… t-two beds are…” Sonya blushed. “I mean… b-because it is somewhere we can be free, not… y-you know…”

“Plus it’s easier to make sure you are keeping your promise.” The new XCOM soldier noted, his other hand holding a plate with toast and peach jelly along with eggs covered with a small amount of ketchup and a pair of sausage links.

Sunny’s eyes widened, and she looked over it like it was ambrosia sprinkled with gold. “Whoa… that looks really good. L-like… r-real food.”

“I made sure to get all your favorites done right too. I asked for pancakes but they didn’t have the stuff on hand. Maybe next time.” Nick told the girl, reaching into his pocket and producing a plastic fork wrapped in plastic wrapping.

Sunny fumbled with it a bit, eventually getting it open and dipping it into the eggs. Before she lifted it, however, she narrowed her eyes at Nick. “Y-you… you’re supposed to p-protect me… n-n-not spoil me, you know?”

“You are the one who says that she wants me to be happy all the time. Well seeing you smiling and happy makes me happy, so deal with being spoiled you little brat.” He reached out, pinching her nose briefly.

Sunny giggled lightly. “W-well, I… I do like it when you’re happy.” She took a bite of the eggs, and smiled warmly. “Mmm… so good. Y-you want sssome?”

“I know you won’t eat all of it, so I will just have what you don’t finish.” The young man said as he climbed farther onto her bed and sat right below her feet, leaning back against the wall. “I met a couple girls while getting your food that wanted to meet you. Thought coming to me was the best way to do it.”

Sunny flinched, and took a small bite of sausage. “I-I don’t… need to meet a-anyone else, right? I-I… I have you… a-and I know the Commander, s-so…”

“You can’t be a wallflower all your life Sunny. Besides, these women are older than the both of us, and you could use more adult care. I can’t be with you all your life, and after all this is over you will need to learn to care of yourself so when we go our seperate ways you can take care of yourself.” The teen explained.

“Our… s-separate…”

“Yeah, you know? You can’t stay with me forever. You have to live your life the best you can, and I’m not best for you. Trust me, you’ll make lots of friends, learn a lot of new things and maybe find a boy you like,” he said, looking up at the ceiling. “All the things a normal girl should experience.”

But I’m not normal… and I don’t want you to… Sunny took another small bite, and slowly nodded. “Okay… I’ll meet th-these ladies.”

“First you need to finish eating your breakfast. And since Anja isn’t here to do it anymore, I will help you get dressed.” Nick told the girl, patting her calf.

Sunny looked over to him, blushing a bit. “I, um… I-I can get d-dressed on m-my own. R-really.”

“Oh really? Have you learned how to tie your shoes yet? Or how to dress yourself so you don’t look like a goofball?” The soldier asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Um… uh…” Sunny poked her fingers together. “Well, I can tie… um… I mean, I… picked out this nice pink and purple pair of pants once, and, um…”

“Uh huh. I’m helping you out missy. No buts. I’ll be sure to make you look like those princesses I told you stories about before bed at the facility. Or as close to it as possible.” Nick noted, scratching the side of his face. “Well, maybe not exactly, but you’ll look good to me at least.”

Sunny smiled, and nodded. “L-looking good to you is a-all I care about.” She looked away. “I-I mean… b-because I-I know you, uh… have good taste…” She quickly swallowed another mouthful of eggs, and offered the plate to Nick. “I-I’m full.”

Nick chuckled, taking the plate and quickly finishing the food that was left and got out of the bed, going to the closet and opening it up to look at the outfits that had been giving to Sunny for her to wear. Nick looked them over and picked out a shirt with a gear graphic on the front of it, the size meant for a child but would likely fit the tiny Sonya. He also picked out a nice solid color jacket and a pair of jeans, turning back to the girl and holding them up for her to inspect and get her opinion.

She pretended to scrutinize them, despite knowing nothing about fashion. She did like the design on the shirt though, the jacket looked comfortable, and the pants looked ‘cool’. She nodded in approval, and turned away from him, slowly unbuttoning her pajama top.

Nick waited by her bed for her to undress herself, not averting his eyes as he felt no real sense of embarrassment for seeing her half naked, though did have a nagging thought in the back of his head about how she did look pretty cute.

Down to her underwear, Sonya was awfully petite for a sixteen year old, a product of stunted growth. Though she was skinny and clearly not very athletic, she wasn’t malnourished. The protectorate and her former caregiver had kept her fed while Nick had made sure she ate what she was given. Her skin was fairly pale from lack of sun, though it was very smooth and blemish free. The majority of her surgery scars were hidden beneath her hair. She had a small bust, but that meant very little to her, not knowing many other women. She looked back, and took the shirt in hand, fumbling to get it on right.

Nick helped her adjust it so she got her head through the right hole -as before she tried shoving it in the right arm one- and pulled it down over Sunny. He then took the pants and instructed her to hold onto his shoulders while she stepped into them. Pulling them up and buttoning them, he let her get the jacket on herself while she slipped on her shoes and he tied them both for her. When all was said and done, he stepped back, and gave her a wide grin. “You look like a normal girl now, not a lab monkey. It’s a good look.”

Sunny looked herself over, twisting and turning as she admired the clothes more than how she looked in them. “Th-thank you, Nick. N-n-now if… I-I could o-only talk like a n-normal girl… a-and a-act like one. D-did you know m-most girl’s m-my age a-are learning to d-drive a car?”

“You listen to me Sonya.” Her friend began, stepping close to her. “You do talk like a normal girl. Being shy does not mean you are not normal, you hear me? And you act more like a real girl than you give yourself credit for. You are pretty awesome for the bad life that was forced on you. Who cares if some girls are learning how to drive a car? None of them are as bright or warm hearted as you, and certainly many pale in comparison to how cute you act. Boys like shy girls.” He put his hand on her head once more, Nick giving it a slight rub. “So don’t act so down, ya hear? Not while I’m around, and even when I’m not.”

Sunny sniffled, wiping a tear away, and nodded. “Thank you, Nick. Th-that… means a lot f-for me to hear.”

He nodded, wiping away any moisture left coming from her eyes before telling her to stay put as he left to go get her curious seekers.

 

[ZombieSplitter53]

MarineAvenger & ZombieSplitter53
Resolutions
Part Two

The next time the door to Sunny’s room opened, Nick stepped in again merely ten minutes later with two women following behind him, the newest soldier stepping out of the way to allow them entry in. “Sunny, this is Ayame and Alexis, the women who wanted to meet you. They are soldiers on this ship like me now.”

Sunny smiled nervously, twiddling her fingers. “H-hello.”

“Hey. Nice to meet you.” Ayame stifled a snarl. Stunted growth and same physical age, and this girl is still a bit taller than me, damn it!

“Nice to meet you.” Alexis stepped forward and reached forward. She chuckled softly when Sunny flinched. “It’s okay. I won’t bite. Though, uh… I’ve heard the cliff notes of what you’ve been through, so I guess I can’t blame you for being… fidgety.”

Sunny took several deep breaths. After stealing a glance at Nick, she finally shook Alex’s hand. “N-nice to m-m-meet you.”

Alex nodded. “Ayame and I wanted to get a look at the latest rescue of our Commander.” She looked over at Nick. “Are you her brother? Or just another victim?”

“Just another victim. The result of the SFA’s attempts to test psionics in younger people.” Nick answered, sitting on Sunny’s bed close to her, though he didn’t see anything wrong with proximity since it was usually how close he sat with her.

Ayame noted how comfortable they were together, but said nothing, not wanting to start of the meeting of new friends awkwardly. “So what about you, Sonya? What is so special about you?”

Alexis elbowed her in the side. “What my friend means is what were they doing to you there? You… you know… if it isn’t too hard to talk about.”

“Well…” Sunny rubbed her wrists. “They said they… wanted a human computer. S-so they i-implanted things in m-my brain to… h-help me link up with c-computers better…”

Alex’s shoulders sank. “Sounds unsettlingly familiar,” she muttered, remembering Atka’s parents and people for the short time she knew them.

“So… yeah, that sucks,” Ayame stated. “Picking on a poor girl and messing with her brain. Too bad it isn’t too surprising from the aliens that turn people into youth juice.”
“Th-they… do w-what now?” Sunny asked, looking to Nick for an explanation.

Ayame waved her heads. “N-never mind that. Um… so, uh… did any… good come out of it?” Alexis elbowed her again. “Ow! I’m not trying to be a bitch, I just meant, like… like are you super smart? Can you control machines with your mind? Um… you know, stuff like that.”

The young Russian girl scratched her chin. “Uh… I-I think I’m smart. I-I mean… m-my mind can process data r-really quickly, a-and I know h-h-how to do a lot of complicated things. N-Nick is always saying I’m book smart, and just need to learn how to be, um…”

“Street smart?” Alexis shrugged. “That’s all stuff you learn on the fly from life. Now that you’re out of that musty lab, you’ll pick it all up. In time. I’m sure your cute friend here can help with that, right Nick?”

Nick’s scowl deepened slightly. “I’m not cute. But yes, it’s my job as her protector to teach her how to live for herself. Unlike Sunny, I wasn’t born into the program. I had time to learn to be human.”

Sunny leaned close to him and whispered loudly, “She said you’re cute. D-does that mean she likes you now?”

Alex’s eyes widened a bit and she waved her hands. “W-whoa now. I, um… th-there is a bit of an age difference, and… a-and I have someone I’m quite happy with.”

“Oh?” Sunny smiled, happy to hear that for more than one reason. “That is nice.”

Ayame chuckled. She stared into Sunny’s eyes, something she had been doing for the last few minutes. Curiosity finally getting the better of her, she stepped forward, leaning forward and getting right into Sunny’s face. “Hmm…”

Sunny leaned back, shaking a bit. “N-Nick?”

Nick stepped up and pushed Ayame back with a shove, his closed fist looking dangerously close to being used. “What the hell are you doing? Don’t you see that makes her uncomfortable?”

Ayame held up her hands. “S-sorry, I just… I haven’t met many people with grey eyes, and I’ve met a lot a people. So I was curious, and was looking at them when I noticed there was something off about them.”

Sunny shoulders sank a bit. “I-it’s okay, Nick. She was… o-only curious.”

His eyes didn’t leave Ayame, the anger subsiding slightly as he sat back down, looking off to the side with a sigh. “Sorry.”

Ayame shrugged. “It’s cool. I know I can be a bit… forward.”

“And then some,” Alexis agreed. She walked up to Sunny and knelt down. “May I?” Sunny slowly nodded, and opened her eyes wide. Alexis looked them over, noting a familiar shimmer to them. How uniform they were. How they looked normal at first glance, but less so the more you looked at them. Alex stood up and stepped back. “Sorry, Sunny. How…”

Sunny sighed. “I… th-they had me staring at c-computer screens s-since I was little. My eyes… couldn’t keep up with my brain… a-and my vision started to get worse and worse.” She smiled softly. “I-It’s okay, though. I can see just fine. Better then fine, p-probably. I-It was really scary w-when I c-couldn’t for a-a while after the s-surgery. B-but… b-but I had someone t-told hold my h-hand and t-tell me stories while I w-waited to s-see again.”

She smiled at Nick, and Ayame couldn’t help but do the same. “You make quite the boyfriend, Nick. Boys twice your age could take some lessons.”

Nick grunted, smoke curling up from in between the fingers of his clenched left hand when Sunny was reciting her story. “I’m not her boyfriend. Sunny’s incapable of handling herself in a lot of ways and I’m here to help her pick up the slack and teach her the way to do things. I’m not interested in her like that.” The teen said angrily, then quickly regretted his words.

Sunny looked away, sighing. Alex stepped over to Nick and glanced over to Sunny. “I don’t think she sees it that way, Nick.”

Sunny darted her head to look at them. “N-no, I… we’re just…”

“Ah, come on.” Ayame laughed. “I see the way you look at each other. Sit close. You two are pretty much this close to macking it right here in front of us.”

Sunny’s eyes widened. No! Don’t… N-Nick will get mad and… a-and he’ll think I’m weird. “He is… h-h-he just wants to be… m-my… he doesn’t s-see me that way, l-like he said…”

Alex leaned against Nick’s shoulders. “Oh, but you two are so cute together!”

“Enough!” Nick yelled, pushing Alexis off of him and standing up, turning around. His eyes were aflame with anger -a deep red color- and his left fist was quite literally flaming as he stared at the three girls. “I don’t care for Sunny, and I am not going to sit around being made fun of. I protect her, and that’s it! End of story.” He yelled, going and shoving the door open, quickly walking out with smoke trailing behind him.

 

[ZombieSplitter53]

MarineAvenger & ZombieSplitter53
Resolutions
Part Three

Sunny lowered her head, and the room was silent. Ayame rubbed the back of her neck. “Jeez, what a hot head.” Alexis gave her another elbow. “Oof! Would you stop doing that!”

Alexis knelt in front of Sunny. “Sorry. We were just messing around. We didn’t mean to upset him so much… or you…”

Sunny slowly shook her head. “I-it’s okay. I… I-I like Nick. But… but i-it is o-okay if he d-doesn’t like me. H-he… h-he has to care for me l-like I’m a baby. I-I don’t blame him for… not caring for me.”

Ayame shrugged. “Could be he does care, but is too proud to admit it, you know? Men… and they call women complicated in these matters…”

Alexis gave her a cold look before turning back to Sunny. “Is there anything we can do to make you feel better?”

Sunny thought about it. “I-I’d feel better… i-if Nick ffffelt better.”

“Maybe we can get him something to cheer him up,” Ayame offered. “What does he like? Can’t imagine you guys got much in the way of presents and prizes while you were…”

“P… p-p… presents!” Sunny held her hand in front of her eyes and let out a soft sob. “I-I… I-I forgot to… w-wish him a happy b-b-birthday!”

“It’s his birthday?” Ayame scratched her cheek. “Then why was he doing all this instead of chilling out and enjoying his day?”

“N-not just this…” Sunny hung her head in shame. “This… a-and w-waking me up… a-and getting me breakfast… a-and helping me dress. I-I… I-I’m so stupid!”

“Hey, now. Don’t think like that. The day just started.” Alexis stood up, and walked over to the door. “Ayame, keep her company.”

The Asian woman raised an eyebrow. “Where are you going?”

“To get Nick back. Duh.” Alexis rushed out and ran down the hall, mumbling, “Or get someone with a lot better chance of doing so at least…”

*****

In the holo-training room, a simulation was running of hand to hand combat set to merely an easy mode so that the holograms were stupid and uncoordinated. To Nick, he wasn’t looking for a challenge, but merely wanted something to outlet his anger on. He formed a swirling fireball in his hand and tossed it lazily forward, the fireball exploding outwards as he formed a shockwave in the middle of it and incinerated a group of enemies. A blast of hot air went past him as his clothing and hair moved in the blast of the explosion, the teen sighing in more annoyance than comfort. “Where’s Anja when you need her? She’d be able to handle Sunny for me…” He looked to the side as one of the holograms ran at him and once again with a bored look he seized control of it by the neck and snapped it in an unnatural way, causing it to pixelate, pop like a bubble and disappear.

“Whoa… scary.” Behind him, an unknown but familiar looking woman with green hair walked in, shaking her head. “Not used to feeling so bad for something that is both the bad guy and a projection of light and energy.”

Nick turned his head in the direction of the new women, raising a confused eyebrow at her. “Do I know you?”

“No, but you know my sister. Well… you’ve met Alex. Not sure how well you know her after talking for ten or so minutes.” She raised her hand as she approached. “Jennifer Chambers. Lab tech.”

Nick’s features hardened at the mention of Alexis, but he decided to act somewhat civil else he would get sent to the Commander for acting bad. He reached out and took her hand. “Nick Cauthon. New cannon fodder for the soldiers.”

“No one is cannon fodder in XCOM,” Jennifer assured him. “The Commander wouldn’t allow it. Each person is treated as important as an entire battalion.” She chuckled. “Fitting for you. I was watching you a bit. You could probably give an entire battalion of soldiers a run for their money with those powers.”

“I know… I was joking.” The teen said dryly, giving Jenn his signature frown as he crossed his arms. “So what are you doing here?”

Jennifer smiled. “Honestly? I’m here because Alexis wanted to be here, but figured showing her face to you would only upset you more. Alexis is a great person. An even better sister. Buuuut… she tends to joke around too much and get carried away, and before you know it, she’s unintentionally pushed someone’s buttons. Ayame is much the same in her own way. Put them together, and you get one very angry teenager blowing up holograms so he doesn’t blow holes in the walls, and another very sad teenager sitting alone in despair.”

Nick’s features visibly wavered and his eyes gave way to worry without him noticing. “What do you mean by that last one?”

Jennifer sighed. “I mean your young friend, Sonya. Ayame is keeping her company right now, but the one she really wants is you. And not because she’s upset. Because she feels she let you down.”

“Damn it… I should have… damn it.” Nick said, his shoulders sulking as he looked at the ground. “Probably made her cry again too…” He added softly.

“I don’t know,” Jennifer said honestly. “Alex didn’t stick around long enough to see if she was crying after Sonya said it was your birthday.” She folded her arms. “Odd relationship you two have, huh?”

“She… she remembered…” Nick trembled slightly, closing his eyes. “Damn it… I wanted her to forget it. I didn’t want her to celebrate it…”

“And why not?” Jenn asked. “I’m sorry that Alexis and Ayame made you so uncomfortable with the whole boyfriend teasing thing, but you are at least her friend, right? I don’t think you would have got so upset if you didn’t at least care about her that much. So why wouldn’t you want your friend to remember it’s your birthday?”

“Because… Sunny… Sunny doesn’t remember when her birthday is. It would be selfish of me to expect one of her when I can’t even properly give her one. I had no idea she had been keeping it in her mind. It’s because I am her friend that I didn’t want her to feel like she owed me something. But I… I don’t know. I do like her Jenn, it is just complicated. She doesn’t deserve me. I’m not good for her.”

“Oh, come now.” Jennifer gave him a warm smile. “You seem a decent fellow to me. I’m not sure if I’m the best judge of character in the world, but I think you’re great for the girl you put so much time and effort into caring for. So what is so bad about you?”

“Sunny only knows what I’ve told her about my life from before, and that isn’t much. I grew up… I grew up with a wealthy family, but I’ve always hated ADVENT and the aliens. My friends were all like minded and we caused trouble. Graffiti, destroying public property… I was found out when I got caught by the authorities and instead of being killed, my parents volunteered me for a ‘special’ program the Elders were looking to get children for. I acted like a street thug, and combined with my anger issues… she needs someone to care for her, and love her the way she deserves. With tenderness and sweet words. I can’t do that.”

Jennifer nodded. “I understand what you're saying. You’ve had a rough life. Bit of a punk. Parents were either too foolish to know what they were volunteering you for or too heartless to care. Meanwhile, you have someone like Sonya. Gentle. Meek. Big in heart, weak in form. Someone you see as dear and treasured who deserves to be treated right, and you don’t think you’re the man for the job. But you’re forgetting something important. Blind to it because you’re too hardened to let yourself see it.”

“And what is that?” Nick asked with his cold tone returning when he realized how much he had let his guard down.

“Well, waking up early early to make her breakfast on your birthday. Helping her look nice. Sitting by her side. Jumping to her defense against Ayame. All seems like tenderness to me. And how much do you want to bet, if I asked her right now, Sunny would share with me all the sweet words you say to her on a daily basis? Nick… you can be tough, and hardened, and even a badass. I think you have that down pretty well. But that doesn’t mean that, for one person, one special person, you can’t show a gentler side. Especially for one who needs it.”

 

[MarineAvenger]

MarineAvenger & ZombieSplitter53
Resolutions
Part Four

Nick frowned, though not from annoyance or anger, staring down at the ground as he sucked in air through his teeth. “Why do you have to be right about her…” He clenched his fists, closing his eyes. “I don’t know why she puts up with me. Why I haven’t made her hate me yet with the things I’ve said to her. All the times I’ve pushed away her attempts at trying to get closer.”

“I’m afraid there is only one person who can answer that.” The lab tech ran a hand through her hair and stretched her arms. “You could go ask her. Or you could just head back and let her say happy birthday. If it makes you feel bad… why not think of a day to call her birthday? Then you’ll be even, right?”

“Maybe…” Nick rubbed the back of his neck and slowly developed an idea, looking to Jenn. “You said that she was still in the room with Ayame, right?”

Jennifer nodded. “As far as I know, yeah.”

“Thank you for coming to get me Jenn. You’re one of the people who can stay off my shit list.” Nick told the woman, running past her as fast as he could push himself to run.

She laughed softly. “Since I’m betting that’s a long list, I guess I should be grateful,” she said, heading out to tell her sister the news.

*****

Sunny gave Ayame a skeptical gaze, looking her up and down. “Y-you don’t… look dead.”

“Undead,” Ayame corrected. “Or… living dead. Five and a half centuries, and I’m still not sure what the difference is, or if there even is one.”

The platinum haired girl scratched her head. “So… does that mean you can’t die?”

Ayame shrugged. “No. Just means I can’t die easily. Need my heart and blood. I can’t heal if I don’t have enough energy. You should see what plasma does to me… nasty.”

“W-what about your h-head? Can you li-live without that?”

“Well, plenty of people seem to get by without a brain, so why not me?” Ayame chuckled. “But I’ve never lost my head, so I don’t know. Don’t really want to find out either. Been shot in the head before, but that’s different from severing it. I’m going to just assume not and avoid it.”

“A-and you get energy by… a-absorbing it f-f-from other people?” Sunny tilted her head curiously. “H-how d-does that work?”

Ayame grinned. “Want me to show you?”

“Do that and I pop your head like a grape.” A voice said behind Ayame seriously.

The woman jumped, and quickly turn and threw up her hands in defense. “Kidding, kidding. Just a joke… mostly.”

Sunny’s face lit up for a moment before the happiness evaporated from her, and she suddenly found the ground very interesting. Nick stepped into the room further and looked down at Ayame. “Get out. I want to talk to her alone.”

Ayame gave him a quick salute. “Yes sir. And… sorry for pissing you off.” She stepped to the doorway and said, “Maybe we can spar sometime and you can take out your aggression on me that way. I hear you're quite the firecracker.” She wondered for a moment if saying that would annoy him, and quickly ducked out before she found out the hard way.

Nick reached out and shut the door using his telekinesis, the young teen looking at the girl staring at the ground and let out a drawn out sigh. “Please look at me Sunny.”

Sunny slowly lifted her head to do just that. “S… s-sorry, Nick.”

“Now why are you going and saying something like that. It’s… supposed to be my line.” He said, walking forward and kneeling before the girl, reaching out and touching her hand.

His was the only touch that didn’t make her flinch. “I’m sorry they upset you by saying a-all those things about… u-us. A-and I’m s-sorry… I-I didn’t w-wish you a h-happy birthday when I-I woke up. It… is a-a special d-day, after all.”

“Yeah… you are right. It is a special day. Because it is your birthday too.” Nick said tenderly, smiling up at the girl as he ran his thumb over her fingers.

“It… it is?” Sunny smiled. “Silly. I don’t know when my birthday is. A-and unless y-you have special… see into th-the past powers…”

“No, you don’t understand.” He told her, standing up and taking his place besides her, letting go of her hand for now as he looked towards her. “This isn’t just my special day because I don’t want it to be. If you can’t remember your birthday, then we will make it when we want to make it. And I want everyday between us to be special. We’ll share our birthdays together, our valentine’s days, and any other silly things you want to celebrate. Whatever it is though… we’ll do it together. As the team we were meant to be.”

Sunny’s smile widened, and she reached over, taking his hand. “I-I… I like that idea. Th-thank you, Nick. And… h-happy birthday.”

“Yeah… happy birthday Sunny.” Nick said, leaning over and giving the girl a small kiss on the cheek.

Sunny’s hairs stood on end, her heart rate quickening ever so much. He kissed me. I… this… She leaned over, placing her head against his shoulder and closing her eyes. “Best birthday e-ever…”

***

Late in the night, a figure stood over Sunny as she slept softly and peacefully. Reaching out, the figure touched her shoulder, shaking it slightly to wake the girl. Again, as before, Sunny slowly opened her eyes and took a moment to remember where she was, though somehow it was easier now as she turned her eyes up.

“Hey, want to come into my bed tonight? It’s almost midnight.” Her roommate told her in a hushed voice, even if there was no real need to do it.

Sunny hid an excited look, and quickly sat up, sliding out of her bed. “I… I would like that v-very m-much, N-Nick.”

Nick held out his hand and allowed Sunny to slip her grip into his, both their feet softly padding against the cool floor as they made their way towards his bed. He allowed the girl to enter first, then followed in after her, pulling the blankets over them both. His arm slipped underneath the small girl and held her close. “Happy new year Sunny. We’ve had a lot of ups and downs since we met but… the time we had together it… it meant the world to me…”’

“A-and to me, Nick.” Sunny sighed in contentment. “I l-look forward to a-another year with you. Together…” ...forever.

Nick’s arms kept Sunny warm and gave a sense of safety and security that nothing else in the past could have. He hummed her a soft song, his hand moving up and down her arm, and just as her eyes grew heavy, and the clock reached midnight, a new year became ushered in. The boy holding her turned slightly, and for more than a brief moment, their two lips met in a new year’s kiss.

 

[DarkGemini24601]

“Judgement of the Heavens”

1000 Hours, January 1st, 2039

At this time in the morning, a signal flooded over the planet Earth. It was sent from a broadcasting station unknown to the Resistance, Genesis, or even Advent – one that had the ability to reach every open channel across the world. On screens across the globe, in homes, in bars, in freedom fighter camps, in staging grounds and on communications devices in-use on the battlefield, the elegant, intricate mask of the High Commander of the Ethereal Protectorate appeared before humanity.

“There comes a point,” Vekinte’ecformin’cettnint remarked forcefully, “where I can no longer tolerate what is occurring.”

The white-robed Elder shook his head, very much displeased. “Humanity has disappointed me. You were granted so much. We showered you with gifts, with sprawling cities of unparalleled splendor. With medical treatment beyond anything you could have achieved on your own. With protection unmatched in its security. And yet… the dissidents still came. It was not unexpected that there would be those that would defy the Path, that would stand in the way of the ‘heaven’ I have offered – of that utopia. But to see such an organized Resistance, coordinated and numerous beyond expectations was disheartening. And yet I stayed my hand. I did not overreact, because I did not wish to destroy all that I had created for you.”

“But then!” Vekinte interrupted himself, a shimmering golden aura appearing around him. “Then one of our own number fell to darkness. A fellow Elder that I had offered mercy to during the cleansing of our ranks, even knowing that he was unorthodox in his thinking… had the audacity to betray me. To betray everything we have done. Everything we stand for! The traitor Shen’lutusus forced a response. Forced my hand. But even then… I was gentle,” the High Commander stated. “I did not wish to destroy Matterhorn and the numerous compromised Megacities. I wanted to bring them back into the light. And so I sent the human champion of the Path to the capital of Europe to take it back. I sent Colonel Cain Verrater.”

“And yet, I am continually surprised by the snakes that lie within our ranks. When it came down to it… the Colonel betrayed the ADVENT Coalition and stole many from its number to form the organization he calls ‘Genesis’: another barricade to the progress of humanity and the Path. And even now, they threaten to tear apart all that we have built for you. I have had enough.” The Ethereal gestured his arms out to either side. “Humanity has failed to live up to my expectations. You cannot be trusted with yourselves. For this reason… I hereby make the following proclamation:”

“The Resistance and all those that stand with it are illegitimate groups. They are an affront to the Path and a threat to humanity itself, and will be eliminated with extreme prejudice. And as for the ADVENT Coalition, which is guilty of mismanagement and many, many failures… I henceforth dissolve it. All Advent soldiers, you are now under the direct command of the Ethereal Protectorate. We will no longer advise from afar. We will rule you directly, humans… and force you into the light if so necessary.”

“As for the Resistance… as for XCOM and those that stand with you in particular…” Vekinte stared directly out from the screens that he was depicted on. “I know you will attempt to come for my compatriots and myself. It has been foreseen, and I am no fool. But know this. We will not be so easily defeated.” Beside Vekinte, the images of seven other Ethereal masks were depicted. “You want to face my Overseers? Know that we will strike you down with the might of the Sol System itself. Today, we assume the monikers of the celestial objects of this star system itself, and champion the power that the gods they were named after represent.”

“Qiasun’zeinin shall be Neptune, the blue gas giant and the god of the sea. Avyssos’straiga shall be Erebus, the moon of a solar planet unknown to you and the hound of darkness. Merenu’beurmas shall be Rhea, a moon of Saturn and the daughter goddess of the earth. Tien’lyssigan shall be Mars, the red planet and the god of war. Cordiam’ecformin’cettnint shall be Chronus, the ninth planet that humanity never discovered and the titan of time. Zemsis’jiputer shall be Jupiter, the greatest gas giant and the king of the gods. The Honored Overseer shall be Pluto, the cold eight planet and the god of death.” The High Commander placed a hand over his heart. “And you shall know me as Uranus, the titan of the sky and the child of Aether! Together, we shall purify Terra of the disease that threatens to corrupt and destroy it, and bring peace to this planet once and forevermore!”

The aura of power around High Commander Ouranos – around Vekinte’ecformin’cettnint – grew in intensity as he declared, “but for now… this is war.”

Beginning of Phase 3: “War”​

1010 Hours, January 1st, 2039

The Avenger takes off once more.

 

[ZombieSplitter53]

[Takes place around Christmas. Sorry for the late post. Lengthy and took a bit to set up.]

Dahlexpert & ZombieSplitter53
Best Laid Plans
Part One

On board the Avenger.
Soldiers barracks

Luke was looking at the engagement ring, wondering if what he was doing was the right choice. This is the right thing, right? I mean, I do love her, and we did say we both want children, and she did say she would be with me forever. "Ugh, why am I second guessing this? It's not like we said we wouldn't, but to hold the actual ring and to ask her?" Luke shook his head, and clenched his first.

"What am I saying? I am Luke Van Dam. I am the bandit killer, the demon of XCOM. I faced the scum of humanity, the best that ADVENT has to offer, and came out on top. I'm the ultimate ladies man, I'm deadliest human psion on the planet. I am..."

Luke stood up, looked at the ring, and fell back on the bed. "I'm a scared little boy who's about to make the biggest, most difficult decision of his life. But that won't stop me. I love Alexis and I will not let my nerves get to me." Luke stood back up and put the ring back in it's box, and put it in his pocket.

"Alright, time to man up and wing it. Because that has always worked for me, Now let's have some fun." Luke opened the door and made his way to the Chambers room.

Once he arrived, he heard laughter on the other side. Falling silent for a moment, it sounded like Alexis with someone else. It was hard to tell through the door, but it seemed to be her mother's voice. The two were chatting up something fierce and laughing loudly.

Luke took a deep breath and knocked on the door. "Merry Christmas. Yo Chambers, open up."

The door swung open, and Veronica jumped out, wrapping her arms around the man. "Luke! Merry Christmas!" She gave him a big kiss on the cheek.

I did not sign up for this. Well, I'm going to do best get used to it. Luke hugged Veronica back. "Merry Christmas to you too. I see you're in high spirits."

"Oh yes. Just sharing some embarrassing stories about Joe. Come in, come in!" Vicky grabbed his hand and pulled him into the room. "Do you need me to leave so you can get a bit of action, Luke?"

"Moooom!" Alex cried out childishly, blushing.

Luke waved his hand in dismissle. "No no, I have a special surprise for her later. And I'm confident she's going to love it, it will be a unbelievable gift." One she will never forget.

"Oh?" Veronica led him to one of the beds, motioning for him to sit down. I love surprises. Tell me. Just... whisper it in my ear."

Luke raised his eyebrow and thought about telling her. H decided not to tell her that about the proposal. but tell her about the apartment. He leaned forward, and whispered, "Well, I have this penthouse apartment in the city. I'm hoping to move Alexis there and give her a taste of living on her own."

"Oh, really now?" Veronica gave Alexis a big smile, which only sparked her curiosity. "Might I suggest taking her out to eat to give her the news? Not here, though. Somewhere in the city. Somewhere... you know, romantic."

"Romantic... Yeah, because I'm all about that. But why not?" Luke looked at Alexis and offered her his hand. "So honey, want to go get dinner? I promise that you will get your surprise later."

"Well, I better, with all these whispers getting me all curious." She took his hand and stood up. Looking down at her attire, a pair of tight blue jeans and a t-shirt for an old band called Pink Floyd, she frowned. "Should I put on something nicer first?"

"Sure, if you want to. You can leave butt naked if you wanted to. I'd enjoy it." Luke brought Alexis close to him. "But seeing you naked is for me to see, and I'm hoping to later."

"Luuuke!" she whined. "Not in front of my mom, please."

Veronica laughed. "Red is such a good shade for her cheeks, isn't it Luke?"

"That it is, and she knows I love embarrassing her just to see her cheeks red." Luke gave Alexis a quick kiss to calm her down. "But in all seriousness, I have a wonderful surprise for you later. You're going to absolutely love it."

"Alright." Alexis smiled. "In that case, I have something nice I can put on. Meet me in front of the ship in... fifteen minutes?"

"Yeah yeah. Alright, I can't wait to see what you wear. You will get to see part one of your three part surprise."

Alexis grinned excitedly and pushed him out so she could get ready. Fourteen minutes later, she approached the man outside of the ship. She wore black slip on shoes and black dress slacks. She had on a dark purple blouse that complimented her hair and a yellow carnation in her hair that contrasted it. She wore no jewelry, but her mother had helped her with a bit of lipstick and eye shadow.

For Luke, he wore a white button shirt with a black suit and pants. Luke shaved his beard completely and even combed his hair. He looked at Alexis and his eyes widened, and was awe struck. Oh my god, this... holy shit. She's hot. I've never seen her like this. Holy shit. "Wow, you look amazing. I can't add nothing to that. You look really... just... wow."

Alexis laughed, Boeing her head slightly. "Thank you, good sir. And you look quite dashing yourself. I'm glad I dressed up a little. I just hope the other girls don't see my handsome Luke and try and snatch him away."

"Oh, I'm going to be fine. I'm more worried that some guy will try and come up to you and steal you away. But my God Alexis, you... I've never seen you like this. I think I'm falling in love with you all over again."

 

[ZombieSplitter53]

Dahlexpert & ZombieSplitter53
Best Laid Plans
Part Two

"Stop. You keep flattering me like that, and I'll spoil." Atka leaned up on her toes to kiss his cheek. "So... is there a nice place within walking distance, or are we taking public transportation? A... bus, I think it's called?"

"Nope. In fact, meet surprise number one." Luke pulled out some car keys, and hit the unlock button. A muscle car's lights lit up in a parking spot behind Alexis. "I got a car. Figured I'd drive you around instead of taking the bus."

"You... you got a car!?" Alexis ran up to it, running her hands across the hood. "It's a beauty. Where did you steal this from, bad boy?"

"I stole it from the museum, and replaced the one I stole with one from the wasteland." Luke opened the door for Alexis. "But in all seriousness, Shen'lutusus gave me this for defending his precious museum."

It took Alex a moment to stop ogling the car to finally get in it. Once Luke climbed into the driver's seat, she gave him a sly smile. "I'm trying to decide what's more surprising. The Elder giving you a car, or Luke Van Dam accepting a gift from an alien."

"Yeah, how about me wearing a suit? I mean seriously, how does Joe wear this?" Luke messed with the collar. "This is your fault. Me looking like most women's wet dream is your doing."

Alexis giggled. "I'll take that as a compliment. Though I will admit I don't see this as a regular look for you, no matter how good you look."

"God damn right it won't. Now then let's get going.This is only part one of your three part surprise." Luke started the car, and got onto the road. "So Alexis, tell me. Would you rather go to a restaurant, or have me cook for you?"

Alexis laughed lightly. "Well, given the choice, I'd prefer a home cooked meal. But if that's the plan, you're going to need a kitchen to use."

Luke started to grin, and started to push on the gas. "Alright, on to part two of the surprise. Might want to hold on to something." Luke started to fly down the street, wanting to get to the apartment quickly.

Alexis held onto the seat, laughing nervously. "Whoa, now, Luke! Don't get us killed! Are y-you even skilled at driving?"

Luke slowed down, and kept his eyes on the road. "Alexis, I've been driving since I was ten, and I dove in the last magacity I was in. So yes, I'm a skilled driver. Now, we should be there in a few minutes. So just sit back and relax, okay honey?"

Alexis let out another nervous chuckle. "S-sorry. I just, um... I got into a car accident when I was a kid, and... let's just say I tend to be a bit nervous in cars."

"Oh.. well then, so much for teaching how to drive. I'm sorry Alexis, I didn't know, but don't worry. Be there soon."

"That's okay." Alexis smiled at him. "Maybe I'll take you up on that offer sometime. Learning to drive would probably make it easier for me."

"Trust me, it's going to be fun." Luke stopped in front of a apartment. The building was very large. He went into the glove compartment, and got a blindfold. "Alright we're here, but there's one condition. You must wear this blindfolded. Have to keep it a surprise."

Alexis laughed. "So much suspense!" She took the blindfold and put it on. "Just make sure I don't walk into any doors, okay?"

"Don't worry, I'll make sure you won't hit anything." As Luke led Alexis into the building, he took her into the elevator. While he had her blindfolded, he took the time to look at the ring to make sure he still had it. And it hadn't fall in the car. He put the ring back in his pocket. Once the elevator opened, he led Alexis into the penthouse apartment. "Okay, you can look now."

Alexis pulled the blindfold off and looked around in surprise. "Whoa... this place is sweet! You must really have some big news if you went though the trouble of renting such a nice hotel."

"Um, yeah, it's not for rent." Luke held Alexis' hand. "This is our home. I talked to Shen about getting an apartment for the two of us and he gave me this. Now mind you, I will have to pay for it eventually. But this is ours. We have a real home for as long as we're in the city anyway. Now, can your boyfriend get things done or what?" He smiled at her, hoping she loves it.

Alexis squealed in joy, and rushed forward. She moved from the couch, to the t.v., to the bedroom. She wanted to take everything in, get familiar with every detail. After a moment, Luke heard her yell from the bathroom, "It's perfect! Is it really all ours?!"

"Yep, this is ours, every square inch. " Luke chuckled and held Alexis' hands. "Remember when we first met you said you wanted me to get you off the ship? Well, I did that in a lot of ways. Teaching you how to swim. Us touring the city. But this, I did what I said I was going to do. I got you off the ship and I'm glad you love this place." Luke squeezed her hands. Is now the time to I ask, now while she's all excited, or do I wait? He looked at her and wanted to ask her right then. Not yet. Let's not rush it yet. "So you love this place huh? I'm glad you like it. Now there's one more surprise for you, but let's eat first."

Alexis nodded. "Okay. I'm excited... but honestly, I'm also pretty hungry."

"Yeah, come and help me out with this stuff." Luke went into the fridge, already having food in there. He pulled out some fish, some crabs, and a lobster. "So, want to help me out here, or do you want to watch?" Luke took off his vest so it wouldn't get in the way.

"Oh, I'd love to help," Alex answered. "I don't expect you to do all the cooking, after all."

"Heh, see, that's why I love you, you're so helpful." Luke used his powers to start boiling some water as he prepared the fish. Luke took a knife and started to get the scales off the fish.

 

[ZombieSplitter53]

Dahlexpert & ZombieSplitter53
Best Laid Plans
Part Three

Alexis went with something easier for the time being, washing some vegetables and cutting them. "Look at us. Preparing a meal in our future home like a married couple. Mom would probably comment on us looking cute or something."

"Yeah probably, but don't we though? I mean, I think this is the first time were cooking next to each other. I mean I've cooked for you, you've cooked for me. This is a nice change of pace." After Luke finished scaling the fish, he gutted it and started to remove it's organs." Ugh, I probably should have done this before bringing you here."

Alexis laughed. "It's okay. I'm not squeamish. My dad, though?" She shrugged. "He'd probably barf."

"Heh, well that's nice to know, but then agai,n you have seen a lot during our battles, so it's appropriate not to be squeamish." Luke started to chop up the fish, but he turned his attention to the crab and the lobster, putting them both in different pots. He put a small flame under each pot to boil the water.

Alexis watched him with a smile. "You really are handy. I'm glad I got you when I did. I can imagine Catherine grabbing you as her boyfriend/kitchen help and never letting go."

"Yeah, all the more reason I'm glad I found you too. I mean, how many people get to eat your cooking? And I have a smoking hot girlfriend." Luke started to add the seasoning into the water and on the fish. He put the fish into the oven, letting it cook. "Need my help darling?"

"Just let me know if I'm cutting these carrots too big," she answered, stepping to the side so he could look.

"You're fine. Say, take over for a minute, I need to set something up real quick." Luke lowered the flames so the food wouldn't burn.

"You got it." Alexis stepped over to the stove, watched the crab and lobster and slowly stirring the pots.

Luke went to the bedroom, and pulled out the ring. He decided to put it in the dresser. "Alright, everything is going great, so once we're done eating, I think then would be a good time." Luke took a deep breath and looked at the bed. "Something tells me your going to get used tonight, until the sun comes up if I'm lucky." He cracked the door to see what Alexis was doing.

Still at the oven, Alexis was humming softly to herself, shaking her hips back and forth. If nothing else, it seemed she was having a good time.

"Heh look at her. I'm going to marry that. She just looks so... wow. I know I said it earlier, but damn she looks good. Alright, better get back to it." Luke left the bedroom and grabbed Alexis' hips. "Well you seem to be enjoying yourself, and here I was worried."

"And why wouldn't I be enjoying myself." Alex leaned back against him and sighed. "This all seems so... wonderful. Sucks we still have a war to fight, but knowing we have all this to come back to make it feel a bit better."

"Yeah, a nice change of pace before we get back to it. It's a shame we might be going out soon, but like you said, we have all this to come back to." Luke heard the oven beep. "Well, sounds like our fish is done. We can finally eat. Though part of me wants to get his desert first, but I have to wait."

"Oh, you'll get all the desert you can handle later," Alexis assured him with a wink, helping to carry the food to the dining table.

"Oh, I can't wait, but let's eat. Food looks great and I want to give you that last surprise very soon."

Alexis couldn't agree more, eating with a passion. She wanted to get to that last surprise, and it helped that the food tasted so good. "Some of your best work yet," She said honestly.

"Yea well, I had help and it helps I had another great cook to help me out." Luke also ate with a passion, enjoying the seafood and the vegetables.

Alexis laughed. "I learned from a great teacher. And that isn't the only thing you've help improve my skills with," she said with a wink.

"I'm well aware." Luke looked at Alexis and put his arm on the table." Hehe, it's funny. We've been together since the start of this war. It's kinda funny. We started out as two flirts and now look at us. In a apartment, eating together. It's all very funny how life works isn't it."

Alexis nodded. "I'm glad we worked it out. Things were... shaky for a while there. But I have no regrets. You?"

"Not a single one, and now it's time for your final gift." Luke grabbed Alex's hand and led her to the bedroom.

"Oh ho?" Alexis laughed. "That kinda surprise, huh?"

"No. A completely different surprise, one that will shock you. Now close your eyes."

Alexis stood up straight and closed her eyes. "I guess it is appropriate that I feel like a kid on Christmas morning."

"Alright, now keep them closed." Luke went into the dresser and pulled out the ring. Htook it out of the box and went to Alexis. Holding her hand, he put the ring on her finger." Okay, open your eyes."

Alexis slowly opened them, gasping as she looked down at her ring finger. "You, uh... I-I... I-I-I... this..." she babbled, looking and wobbling like she might faint.

Luke held her arms to make sure she didn't fall. "Alexis Chambers, we've been through a lot. We started dating not, knowing what we were doing. You learned about my past and still chose to stay with me. We fought together and have seen so much in this war. I've seen you at your best when you were most confident. I've seen you at your worst, not knowing what do about the people we lost. You are my lover, my comrade, and my friend. Alexis, will you do me the honor of being my wife."

 

[ZombieSplitter53]

Dahlexpert & ZombieSplitter53
Best Laid Plans
Part Four

Alexis took several quick breaths, on the verge of hyperventilating. After a minute, she was able to calm down, taking several breaths. Finally, with the near panic of the moment passed, worry anxious expression was replaced with a growing smile. "I... y-yes, Luke! Of course!"

Luke smiled at Alexis, and lifted her in the air out of excitement. Thank God! You had no idea how worried I was."

Alexis smacked him on the shoulder. "Worried about what? That I'd say no? You must be out of your mind! But I guess you'd have to be to marry into my looney family..." She cupped his cheeks and have him a soft, loving kiss. "Of course I'd say yes. I wouldn't even have joked about it if I hadn't been so stunned. The end of the war itself couldn't make me happier then I am right now."

"Well then, I'm glad that you love it, I was so nervous about this. The apartment and the ring. It was very nerve racking. But I'm glad that you said yes. I couldn't be happier ether."

Alexis nodded in agreement. Her eyes darted about in thought, looking a tad worried. "Um... I know we have touched on it briefly before. Joked about it... but... when we're married, and the war is over... well..." She looked down, placing a hand on her stomach. "You still... want a child, right?" she asked hopefully.

"Of course I would, why wouldn't I? I never cared more for anything in my life." Luke gave Alexis a loving kiss to reassure her. "I wouldn't do all this if I didn't think about our future family."

"Good. Because I want to be the mother to a whole knew line of Van Dams." Alexis closed her eyes in thought. "Luke Chambers or Alexis Van Dam. Hmmm... I think I like... the sound of Alexis Van Dam better. Alexis Aleksandra Chambers Van Dam. Just rolls off the tongue."

Luke eyes widened. "Your middle name is Aleksandra? " Luke couldn't help but laugh. "I think I just found the name for our future daughter. Though I can't laugh too much. My full name is Luke Conner Van Dam. But still Aleksandra. Really, I think your mom read a little too much fantastic books."

Alex lightly punch him in the arm. "Hey, she named me after my grandma, Connor. Though if you want to know a secret about my sister, her full name is Jennifer Michalina Chambers."

"Oh, you just gave me a bunch of insults I can give to Jennifer. But there is one thing I have to say. I've given you so many gifts today honey. So what present do I get for Christmas my dear Alexis?"

Alexis sighed, giving him a deep frown. "Well, I had this... silly thing..." Alexis walked into the living room and took a small box from her small purse. She returned and handed it to Luke. Upon opening it, he found a blue, fancy looking analog watch. "I found it at some resistance base about... five years ago. I don't know anything about the brand, only that it is called Zenith because it is on the watch. Had to trade, like... a nice digital watch and about a year's worth of candy and flirt my butt off to get it, and the only reason the guy gave it to me is because despite how good it's condition was, he couldn't for the life of him get it to tick. I couldn't either. Not for over five years. But then I met you and... I-I wanted to get you something nice. I missed your birthday, so I swallowed my pride and begged Jack to help me out. And... late one night about a month ago, I was tinkering with it and... it started... ticking. And it has worked ever since."

She let out another sigh. "But... you got us a car... and you got us an apartment... proposed to me... and I bet that ring cost an arm and a leg." She shook her head. "I feel silly now," she stated, reaching forward to snatch the watch back. "I'll get you something better."

Luke pulled his hand back and looked at the watch. He decided to put it on and taped the glass, and saw that it was indeed ticking. "You know, I never had anyone give me anything before, besides scrap or bullets. Even when I used to live in the Magacity in Texas, I didn't want anything. This is the first thing outside my family's dog tags someone's given me. And you went thought all the trouble to get it. I love it. Now I have something from you I can wear constantly to remind me of you."

Alexis' face lit up, and she jumped into his arms, squeezing him tightly and peppering his face with kisses.

"Alright, alright, I love you too baby. Didn't think I'd get this kind of affection from you from accepting a gift."

"Oh, that isn't the only affection you're going to get." She slipped to the floor and folded her arms. "If you think you're getting away from me without me rocking your socks off, you have another think coming."

Luke grinned at Alexis. He picked her back up and put her on the bed. "I expected nothing less. Hope you like the bed. I think it's... king size. I think that's what they call it, so it's pretty big. Plenty of room, and since we're the only one's up here, you don't have to keep your voice down at all."

"Oh, I don't intend to." Alexis ran her hand across his cheek. "So... ready to get out of those stuffy clothes and slide into something more comfortable... like, say... me?"

Luke unbuttoned his shirt and threw it across the room. "Have I mentioned I love this aggressive side of you, making me real glad I made you the aggressive one." Alexis laughed, and got to work pulling off more then just his shirt.

 

[Frostlich1228 (Alt)]

*Before Judgement of the Heavens*
Frostlich1228 & MarineAvenger, "Have your pie and eat it too!"




It was late into the evening, with most of the soldiers and staff workers going to bed, many still tired after the invasion that had taken place at Matterhorn. As Artyom returned to his room, he quickly spotted what looked to be a cute pink note quickly hidden under his door. It was decorated with various drawings of hearts, cupcakes, lolipops, and other various symbols, clearly drawn in some kind of marker.

In the center of the page, was a clear invitation to something, which read...

Dear Arty...

My favorite... Well my only boyfriend, but still my favorite!
I know we've all been super busy since we got to the big city, I've barely had time off work to hang out... So...

I've prepared something for you! Something very special!

Meet me in the Cafeteria... Unlock the door using the keycard on the back of this note! Courtesy of Krystal of course! She owes me some favors...

----------------------- Love, your dearest chef Cathy!

Artyom looked over the note, shaking his head as he could tell just by the color of the paper before even looking at the note who it had come from. Still, the hacker allowed himself a very brief chuckle as he folded up the paper and placed it in his pocket, going to see exactly what Cathy was planning.

As he approached the cafeteria, he could see through the window that the entire room was pitch black, with no one in sight. Everything was silent as well, with the engineer hearing nothing inside or out. Like the note had said, the door was locked tight, the only indication Cathy had been here at all was a small smiley face sticker near the card scanner next to the door.

The man looked at the sticker, his curiousity at what game Catherine was playing annoying the man in the back of his head. Not wasting time, he slowly slid the card over the scanner and he stepped inside.

As he stepped forward into the room, some of the lights suddenly cut on, revealing what could only be described as a gigantic whipped cream pie, it had to have at least a seven foot diameter and the crust had to be around a three feet high. What looked to be cinnamon or brown sugar had been sprinkled onto the top of the pie, but other than that and the obvious size, it was pretty basic looking.

If Artyom had the ability to blink in confusion he would have, scratching his beard trying to come up with some explanation as to just why the desert in front of him was even a thing, and why she had made it.

Suddenly, Arytom could notice something rising from the whipped cream in the massive pie. It began as a mere bulge, but as it rose, it began forming into the silhouette of two pigtails attached to a head. Then, the silhouette arched it's back, rising from the dessert faster as the form became more defined, taking the shape of a busty woman, every part of her dripping with the whipped cream.

The woman stopped when she was fully stood up, leaning forward and running a single finger through the whipped cream on her side and after which, began to speak in a familiar, chipper tone, but with an added layer of seductiveness.

"Hey Arty... Wanna' try some of my pie? I made it juuuust for you..."

Artyom stood for several moments, merely not saying anything at the girl before he shook his head, the Russian let out a sigh. "Catherine, what are you doing?"

Her face scrunched up a little, "Well... I uh... Thought you'd like to have some... Fun together... With me? We've been so busy lately... I wanted to do something for you... As like a gift..."

"This seems like a big waste of resources if that was the goal you wanted to accomplish." Artyom said seriously, crossing his arms. "How did you even breath in that thing?"

Cathy reached down, scrounging around until she pulled out a small tube, "Heh... Air Tube... But... I mean, I know this was a little bit forward... But I just wanted to give you the best first time you could ever ask for!"

"What are you even going on about? What is with all of this? This isn't like you at all Catherine. Too forward even for you." The Russian technician told her girlfriend sternly, his frown saying he was expecting a good answer.

"Uhh..." Cathy gulped, "Well... I guess I was sort of... egged on by a friend... B-But I still thought you know... trying something new might be fun! And we were already a little intimate so I guess... I thought you wouldn't mind... going all the way..."

"And you thought this elaborate set up would be the way to go about it?" The Russian man asked the girl as if she thought he was an idiot.

"Uhm... M-Maybe?" Cathy suddenly stopped to look around, then down at herself, "Maybe I got a little carried away... I guess I thought it would be... romantic?"

"Cathy... I thought this was established in our relationship already. I am not expecting a lot from you at all. To do something romantic for me, you just have to act like the normal you. Your harebrained schemes are not something I particularly find favorable. You should have just came and be honest with me in the first place about what you wanted. Are you even wearing anything under that cream?"

"No." She replied, laughing, having a hard time trying to figure out what to say, "Well, even if you don't like it... It wasn't all in vain... I had so much fun putting this together for you! I guess I just felt like we don't really go out and do a lot... I know you like simple and quiet, but have you ever given complex a try? I know a quiet date might be enough for you... But sometimes it's when you take risks and try a little crazy that the best memories are made... I love you Artyom, even though we are so different... And I really want to roll around in some whipped cream with you..."

"Catherine, who is this friend who put you up to this?" Artyom asked, holding out his hand to her to help her step out of the pie.

"Uhh..." She mumbled, taking his hand, "That would be... My sister."

Artyom helped the smaller girl step out of the pie, walking over to grab a towel that was folded on the counter. “And why exactly would you let her talk you into something like this? Surely you should have known something of this… scale wouldn’t exactly have been appealing to my tastes.”

“ She uh… She said she wouldn’t talk to me until I um… Did you…” Catherine answered honestly, “But how do you know if you don’t try? I mean… rolling around in a big pie is pretty awesome.”

“Perhaps the idea sounds appealing to you, but there is just… no way I could bring myself to do something like that. I’m sorry.” The man apologized, slowly running the towel over her back to begin cleaning her up. “And this sister of yours. The fact she would make a demand of something like that is an absurd thing to expect. Why would you let her tread over you like?”

“I haven’t seen her in years… I always felt bad for not helping her, you know? So I just felt like… If this was what it took… Then…” Cathy sighed, “I wanted to go farther with you anyway so it didn’t seem so bad at the time, I guess…”

“Catherine, I need to tell you this now. If you feel scared about admitting what you want to me on your own, there is little I can do in terms of making this work. I need to know these things beforehand so we don’t end up in situations like this. If you simply asked or told me of how you were feeling… we could have dealt with this problem on our own without someone else putting ideas in your head. Do you understand?” Artyom asked with a much forced compassion as he could make himself muster, placing a hand on her shoulder.

Cathy’s face began to lose it’s smile slowly, suddenly feeling guilty about everything, “I… I wanted it to be a surprise… I wasn’t scared of telling you… I’m sorry…”

“It’s okay. Look at me.” The man instructed the woman, crossing his arms. Complying, Catherine looked up into his ‘eyes’ slowly. Artyom then said, “Make no mistake, I do appreciate the thought that you put into this whole… whole thing you tried to do. But you must understand that to me -at least comparable to
everything else in my life- you are the most important thing in it.” He reached down, taking her slightly creamy chin in between his fingers. “Understand me, missy?”

At those words, she began to cry, but not tears of sadness, “I-I-I… Auuuuhh… You have no idea how happy it makes me to hear you say that…”

“Come on, let’s get you wiped down and dressed. We can go back to my room and we will spend the night together. If you say that you are ready to take this step, then I will not deny you the chance. Will it be your first time?” He asked curiously.

“Yep... Uh huh…” Cathy smiled widely, “I think I’m getting the butterflies…”

“I know the ropes of how to take care of a girl from past experience. It will be a special night for the two of us.” Artyom said, for once trying to give Catherine a smile that was genuine.

 

[Frostlich1228 (Alt)]

"Have your pie and eat it too!" Part 2


***

Cathy woke up slowly, her eyes fluttering open as she scanned the room, finding Artyom laying next to her. She huffed out some air, unsure if he was awake or not; it had been a pretty eventful night after all.

Artyom as it turned out seemed to be a light sleeper as he turned back around and faced her, reaching out and touching Catherine’s cheek. “You clocked out at the end there.” He informed her softly.

“I did?” She tried to clarify, “I guess I did… I dunno how you were so good at that…”

“So I suppose that means you got that memory you were striving so hard to make?” Her lover asked seriously.

“Yeah…” She whispered softly, “I don’t think I’ll ever forget that…”

Artyom nodded subtly, merely running his hand across Cathy’s slightly damp face with a sigh. “You should likely get dressed and head down to the medbay for your pill.” He suggested. “Don’t want to wait too long.”

She sat up quickly, “Oh… I already took it… Don’t worry… I expected to do it in the pie, after all…”
Cathy considered a few things suddenly, then realized, “That would actually be super sticky… Why did I want to do that?”

“Because you have a little girl’s mentality trapped inside a mature body.” Her boyfriend answered for her, shrugging as he laid on his back, but reached out to pull the cook against him. “So it is to be expected you would think up something like that.”

“I think I saw it in a comic one time… Not the sex parts… The pie part…” She said, kissing him on the forehead, “Oh well… This was sooo much better…”

“Besides, nobody says that it has to end. Not like I have anywhere important to be in my days, nor do I have roommates to invade my privacy. Realistically, we could be here for a long while. Just me and you in one another’s arms. I am sure it will more then make up for the cold shoulder I gave you during the beginning of our relationship.”

“I dunno… Maybe we could just… Start back up where we left off?” The chef asked, giggling excitedly.

“I don’t have any complaints if you are the one with the energy.” Artyom explained, letting out a sigh. “After all, I was the one doing all of the work.”

“Fine then… Then I should start doing my share…” Cathy said, hopping on top of him and giving him a big kiss.

As their lips were locked, Artyom slowly put a hand on the girl’s torso and pushed her away from him slightly. “You know… you don’t actually expect people to just eat that pie do you? Especially considering that your… naked body was in it?”

Her eyes widened, “Oh no… I was supposed to clean that up!”

“We have staff for that stuff you know.” Artyom said, laying his head back. “If you want you can go. I’ll still be here when you get back. I don’t need someone vicariously eating something smooshed up against my girlfriend’s crotch.” He joked for the first time since their relationship began.

She blushed brightly, throwing some clothes on, “I’ll be right back!” Artyom watched as Cathy left, shaking his head with a drawn out sigh, laying his head down on his pillow again and wondering if that girl would be the death of him.

 

[DarkGemini24601]

XCOM Mission Parameters

Subjugation Engine ‘El Oso Perezoso’, moving through the upper part of the Amazon Jungle
0445 Hours, January 2nd, 2039 [achieve victory before local Genesis forces are wiped out]
Shut down El Oso Perezoso however possible; eliminate the Overseer of South America

XCOM Forces

Menace 1-5

CMDR Ipiktok, Atka [Ambusher]
MAJ Sinclair, Leon [Grenadier]
CPL Ipiktok, Yakone [Ranger]
CPL O’Brien, Morrigan [Specialist]
CPL De Saint Pierre, Gwendoline [Juggernaut]
SQ Cauthon, Nick [Gunslinger]
SQ Ashworth, Emmeline [Phantom]
SQ Armbrüster, Ludwiga [Paramedic]

Operation Irato Mars

Our first target has presented himself. The Overseer of South America, Tien’lyssigan (referred to as ‘Mars’ by the High Commander) is personally spearheading an attack against Genesis. From a facility near the Protectorate-occupied megacity of Roraima, an experimental supersized troop carrier tank has begun a slow but steady march of destruction through the Amazon rainforest. The ESS-TCT has been following near the inactive Coalition railway line that once connected Roraima to the Genesis-controlled continental capital: Amazon City.

Mars’ goal is simple. He intends to retake Amazon, and bring the continent back under his control. We cannot allow this to happen. It is time for XCOM to refocus our efforts back on the job we were founded to perform: kill aliens that threaten Earth’s survival and liberty. Board the gigantic tank that is currently pinning down a division of Genesis troops, eliminate any hostiles in your way, and locate the Overseer. Take him out with extreme prejudice. We aren’t taking prisoners today.

Mars Data:

• Red/Orange Major
• Pyrokinesis & Soul Fire, & an affinity for snakes
• Telekinetic Shield, but a lack of focus on defense
• Machine Lance
• Reflection ‘Fides’ (abilities unknown)

***​

The Skyranger silently zipped through the air just above the clouds, speeding towards its destination. Within, the eight members of Menace 1-5 performed a final equipment check before they would storm the gigantic troop carrier tank in which the Overseer known as Mars could be found. Atka had finished sharing all that Shen’lutusus had shared with her about the foe they would ultimately be facing, and now sat quietly in her chair - mentally ready to fight, but still a bit anxious nevertheless. We’ve never fought an Ethereal of this caliber and won before. We’re much stronger than we were twenty years ago…. but I can’t help wondering if this will be enough. I suppose I just have to have faith.

Morrigan’s eyes wandered over to the newest face and she smiled. “The badass XCOM fighters keep getting younger and younger. Though considering Yakone’s strength at her age…” She extended a hand towards Nick. “Morrigan O’Brien, by the way. Nice to have you on board.”

Nick extended a glare towards Morrigan’s direction but kept his sharp tongue silent and decided to swallow his pride with the Commander standing not too far away. “Nick Cauthon.” The newest Gunslinger did forgo shaking her hand though.

Morrigan withdrew her hand but kept the smile. “Right. No time for pleasantries. We have a psionic titan to topple. Should be… fun? Interesting? Um… hella hard?”

“I think you’re trying a bit too hard, Morrigan,” Yakone commented with a smirk, looking over her unactivated fusion blades.

Morrigan nodded in agreement. “Probably. Wouldn’t be the first time.” She leaned back and closed her eyes, taking several deep breaths to mentally ready herself.

Yakone glanced over at Leon. “You ready for this, Major Sinclair? We’re finally going to get a shot at one of the important Declensions.”

“There’s no way to be ready for this, but we are certainly going to have to raise hell to win this battle. We have Gwen to help keep us safe and Ludwiga to heal us but that doesn’t mean we should think we are invincible. I am sure our target will have more than one trap up his sleeves to throw our way. Try to leave the flair for the stories we will tell when we get home,” the Grenadier said with a subtle hint of jest in his tone when he looked to his fiance.

“Alright, alright,” Yakone responded with mock-offense. “Can you believe this guy, rookie?” she questioned, nudging Emmeline.

The silver-haired soldier rolled her eyes. “Well, she’s just as boisterous as you described her, Gwen.”

“Trust me, watch her old operational videos. There was a point when she was much worse.” Gwen told the woman sitting next to her with a laugh. “She is marginally better. Marginally so.”

“I’ll take what compliments I can get,” the Ranger retorted playfully, adding for amusement’s sake “sis.”

“The interrelationships between all of you is confusing as hell to follow.” Nick noted from the side, looking to the Commander. “Not sure how you keep up with all their antics, Grandma Atka.”

“Grandma…” Morrigan shifted uncomfortably, her eyes darting towards the Commander with the expectation that she might want to duck.

There was an immense sigh from Atka, who pointed at Nick. “I suggest you zip it from herein, unless you want me to become more of a threat to you than Mars is going to be.”

Firebrand’s voice crackled from the cockpit. “If you ladies are done gossiping, we’re almost here. Beginning descent now.”

The soldiers fell silent at those words, knowing that it was time to get serious.

 

[DarkGemini24601]

DarkGemini24601, MarineAvenger, and ZombieSplitter53: “Operation Irato Mars, Part 1”

The Amazon was in flames. All around the battlefield - where hundreds, if not thousands of human Protectorate soldiers fought Genesis troops - the use of explosives, and the inferno tongues from Scorchers had caused the humid jungle to break out in a massive wildfire. The conflagration was devouring the force alive as the war raged below what remained of the canopy. And adding to the destruction was the rolling treads of the titanic vehicle that plowed over the rainforest without a care in the world.

El Oso Perezoso was a tank designed like a land-based warship. It had two sets of massive treads on either side of the main body, which by themselves were nearly as tall as the bulk of jungle trees. The lower central part had a massive door that was currently opening up to deploy another batch of troops to fight and die for the sole purpose of seizing control of the capital Megacity that lay beyond this checkpoint. Above that level, rows of troop-carrying ‘containers’ lay on the sides of the tank, protecting by massive gatling guns that rained down plasma fire upon the Genesis tanks that tried to get too close. And then on the top, there was a triple-gun like that of a naval battleship, and a gigantic turret cannon that served as an upscaled version of the normal-sized artillery gun.

There was no sign of a command center with external points. “Looks like the control room is inside it somewhere. Smart design… going to make this a pain for us,” the Commander noted, putting on her helmet as the cloaked dropship rapidly approached. “Get ready, everyone. Activate your shadow fields, and let’s look for an entry point.” The hatch opened up when the Skyranger was just above the top deck of the ‘lazy bear’, and the eight soldiers dropped down. They moved unseen along the metal exterior of the massive tank, seeking out a way in.

The entry point was found in a magnetically-sealed hatch sitting above a hallway. Atka’s RCs darted forward, placing plasma-based blasting charges around the latches of the hatch. The small robots scurried back to her, and then she pressed down on the detonator. The metal plate fell down into the dark abyss below, and the XCOM soldiers jumped down after it.

They found themselves surrounded by rows of automated soldiers that activated by proximity. They were simply designed, with sleek black alloy exteriors and pulse rifles mounted on their backs. Their violet eyes flared on, dimly illuminating the room as many of them started to go for their weapons. “Intruder al-” one started to say, before being run through by a blade glowing brightly orange.

“Take them down!” Yakone urged, activating her Overdrive defensively as pulse lasers started flying.

Calculating most efficient course of action, Vys intoned in Morrigan’s head. In a flash, she rushed forward, firing at one machine before slamming her weapon into the head of another. With Vys’ assistance and some well timed dodges, she was able to move in between the automated foes that resulted in three more being taken down or damaged by friendly fire. “Look over here,” she yelled in the hopes of gathering attention before darting to get Gwen’s assistance, not really set up herself for defense.

Looks like as good a chance as any to field-test your electrokinesis, Pierre, Atka telepathically noted, her chameleon suit allowing her to blend into the shadows and step behind a pair of the machines - impaling them with her icy helixes. A third fell to a similar backstab by Emmeline, who recloaked soon after the kill.

The Juggernaut approached towards the fallen automatons and held out her hand, drawing out the electrical power that was sparking from their broken internals. Gathering up enough energy, Gwen released a small, concentrated beam of light that completely burnt away the metal exterior of the machine she had targeted. The yellow laser bored a clean hole through the robot that left the threat disabled, the automaton exploding afterwards. “Beams… beams are cool,” Gwen noted over the comms, throwing up a protective barrier over Morrigan so her stunts wouldn’t come back to bite the woman.

The robotic troops that remain began to regroup on one side of the hallway, creating a line of violet dots and blue glows from their eyes and weaponry. Given a chance to breath, Emmeline activated her autoaid protocol, while Ludwiga gave herself the holographic distortion field the armor ability was based off of with her Paramedic Gremlin. This gave the two cover - something that was lacking in the interior of El Oso Perezoso. Gwen herself had cover in the form of her superheavy armor, while Morrigan was plenty safe behind the Juggernaut with her shielding, speed, and the armor frame in front of her combined. Leon moved behind the protection of the defense-oriented soldier as well. Atka and Nick were successfully keeping to the shadows in their own ways, and Yakone was content to stand to the side of Gwen - her psionically-generated defenses being enough combined with her augmented armor to take pulse rifle hits without suffering much damage at all.

The robots weren’t alone, however. A pair of Chargers rushed up to add their shotguns to the mix, and they were accompanied by an alien soldier that moved about as fast as Morrigan. They looked almost like an Ethereal at first glance, but they weren’t quite as tall. Nevertheless, the soldier with segmented armor not unlike a Viper’s slid to a stop between two of the automated defenders, scrutinizing the XCOM troops with beady reptilian eyes. “So you did come. Her predictions are uncanny sometimes.” The Quartermaster drew four plasma swords off his back, wielding them with expert dexterity as a helmet enclosed around the alien’s face. The mask on the front could only be described as the visage of a dragon.

 

[DarkGemini24601]

DarkGemini24601, MarineAvenger, and ZombieSplitter53: “Operation Irato Mars, Part 2”

Without another word, the Draconian rushed forward. A flurry of slashes - too fast to count from which direction they were coming, and what style they followed - swarmed Yakone. The blows rained down against her swords, and she could only block about half of the hits that came through. The rest cut against her armor, ripping deep gouges in it and forcing her to backpedal furiously to avoid being shredded into pieces by the vicious onslaught. Jesus christ! The Ranger thought, unable to keep up with the hailstorm of blows on her own. I didn’t want to have to turn to you this quickly, but the others aren’t going to be able to back me up quite in time.

The slanted shoulderspikes on the Justice Regalia suddenly flickered on, the all-too familiar alien eyes that had been on them before appearing oncemore. Yakone’s blocking pace picked up in a flash as the Silicid with AI-level intelligence assisted the Ranger’s reflexes, allowing her to properly defend herself long enough for others to come forward to assist her. “Little… help over here!”

Moments later, her call for help was answered in the form of an orange spear sticking out of the alien’s armor and the orange suit of armor that teleported to it. The Grenadier kicked the alien back, Leon quickly switching weapons to his sword and shield. He bashed the alien back with Pacem as hard as he could. “Where the hell do they keep getting these fuckers from? Every new battle it is a new alien of the week.”

The Draconian race comes from a planet far from Earth, and even from the original expanse of Ethereal space, Praclaritas noted.

“Shut up, Pra. He doesn’t like you,” Yakone snipped at the alien armor.

… that is unfortunate.

“Look, we’ll discuss my undisputed hate for your armor later, for right now does that talking encyclopedia have an answer on how to properly kill this thing?” The Fortis-enhanced Grenadier asked as he stood in front of Yakone, thinking of having a better chance on the defensive than she would.

This particular Quartermaster is moving faster than should be possible for an unaugmented ‘drake’... I suspect... It became noticable that the eyeslits on the Draconian’s helmet looked disturbing similar in design to Praclaritas’s eyes. ...that its armor is augmented similar to Yakone’s.

The Draconian gave them no further time to strategize. It surged forward again as the robots began to open fire on the others alongside the Chargers. It focused half of his swords on the left side to attack Leon with the upper arm and defend with the lower arm. Both of his right arms had to defend from the dual swords of the Ranger on its right that attacked just as quickly as the Quartermaster could defend. Seeing that it was not getting anywhere with the attack pattern, it switched out to spinning its swords rapidly - creating rings of deadly green plasma that put the pair of soldiers on the defense. The Drake advanced, and as it did, spikes of sharpened alloys shot out from his back to the sides before shooting at Leon and Yakone - the Quartermaster’s Silicid partner intending to impale and consume their armor.

Leon’s armor peeled off of him and kept up the defense he had done while the spikes drilled into the armor, offering up no real threat with the man who had been in it no longer there. His main cannon was in hand now, Leon fired the weapon from in-between his manifestation and his fiance. He went for the chest that the alien could not protect with its four arms occupied, either forcing it to back off or take the hit.

The Draconian, noting out of the corner of his eye that his mechanical allies were dropping like flies, decided to be bold. He let the plasma minigun hit him full-force, rushing far to the right and retracting the spikes. They shot into the bodies of some of the fallen robot soldiers, sucking away their metals to begin to repair the augmented armor of the Quartermaster. He wasted no time, lunging for Yakone even as this happened with all four swords jabbing towards her.

What the Drake didn’t expect was for Yakone to be equally as reckless as himself. She dove forward, the plasma swords impaling the air just behind her. They started to come back towards her, but not before she drove her fusion blades into the weakened spots in the Quartermaster’s armor. There was the horrible sound of flesh being incinerated, and half a second passed before the blades shot out of the Draconian’s back. The follow-up attack on Yakone fell short, and the Draconian crumpled to the ground - a secondary sizzling indicating that the parasite attached to the warrior’s back had been burnt to death as well.

“Glad I’m not hooked up like that anymore,” Yakone noted as she stepped back from the fallen soldier - the last of his comrades being taken down by the others as she spoke. “You were a fucking pain to tear out, you know that?” she questioned her armor.

I noticed the scars when I ran a bio-scan of you prior to battle. Sorry.

“Speaking of which,” Leon began as Fortis began to dissolve into ash behind him. “Mind explaining to us what that thing is still doing functioning?”

Yakone rubbed the back of her neck. “Sorry I didn’t inform you beforehand… I didn’t want to make you worry about it. I’d been thinking about trying to draw on his power again - having a pseudo-A.I. of my own is pretty useful. I only recently had a thought as to how I could make it safe. Realized that I could give him a taste of his own medicine, and had Nouja help me biokinetically reprogram him to shift his loyalties to me and XCOM instead of Ember and the Protectorate.”

“My sister did what?” Atka rubbed the front of her helmet in exasperation. “I’m going to have to have a bit of a talk with Nouja about not keeping secrets…”

Leon looked at Yakone for a few moments, hefting his main weapon onto his shoulder and walking past her. “If you say he is on our side then I will be inclined to take your word on it Yakone. Be warned though that if anything gets out of hand we are searing that thing off of you and getting you normal armor again.”

“Thanks, Leon,” Yakone responded with her relief evident. “Only reason I put him into the Justice Regalia is because I figured we could use every edge we could get against Mars. Ethereals are too dangerous to take lightly.” A slight smile crept onto her face. “And don’t worry… like I said, he’s only integrated into the armor. The only person allowed to give me that sort of physical pleasure is you.”

“Glad you guys left the comms open.” Gwen told the two lovebirds with a shake of her head, looking for their Irish companion. “Hey Morrigan, got an entrance for us yet?” she asked in regards to the door that had automatically locked at the end of the hallway.

Morrigan typed rapidly on the door controls. “Just a few moments more. Might be big and badass, but it is still a tank, not a secret base. Not exactly the most high tech of securities.” Another couple of seconds, and the red screen turned blue. “Bingo. Now let’s find the big bad alien, before more of his flunkies show up to crash the party.”

Menace 1-5 advanced through the bowels of El Oso Perezoso, fighting more mechanical guardians and a number of Advent soldiers along the way. However, such opponents were mere child’s play for the power armor-wearing, plasma weapon-toting cadre of Resistance fighters. They breezed past such opposition, and with a few more hacks from Morrigan found their way towards the command center. A group of Mutons were gunned down in an expansive cargo bay room, at the end of which was a sizeable door that led into the control room of the troop transport tank.